Military power alone cannot sustain global dominance, and attempts to assert it in the face of structural decline may hasten the very outcome they seek to prevent.
Taiwanese government officials and national security leaders must remember that, right now, silence speaks louder than words, and it is better to remain still than to act rashly.
Trump and his advisers have repeatedly insisted that the U.S. president can pretty much do whatever he wants and that the pesky Congress need only be consulted rarely.
When political legitimacy becomes contingent on recognition by a superpower, populations lose their right to self-determination and democracy becomes a selective tool.