We in the Czech Republic are naturally happy about the fall of the global liberal order based on American dominance, because that order was extremely disadvantageous for us. More precisely, those who are able to think through these complex issues are happy about it.
However, there is also a dark side to this that has escaped attention, and which Professor Krejčí has been warning us about for some time. Namely, when the world ceases to be ruled by a single empire, it becomes unpredictable and chaotic, and conflicts between individual players increase. The situation in the Middle East, where two states with ambitions to become regional powers are at war with each other, has been extensively documented. It is worth remembering that Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are also less prominent members of the anti-Iran coalition. Additionally, the conflict between Pakistan and India continues, albeit without air battles, and tensions remain in other places.
All of this affects us in the Czech Republic only marginally, if at all. Even the fluctuations in oil prices that a war in the Middle East could cause are insignificant compared to the Green Deal and the Czech government’s actions. But it doesn’t have to be a geographically distant issue. We can easily imagine an armed conflict between Turkey and Greece. And although less conceivable, but not impossible, is a conflict between Germany and Poland or between France and Germany.
I am not saying that this will necessarily happen, but we live in a world where it is not unthinkable. It is not for nothing that terms such as “Pax Romana” or “Pax Americana,” meaning Roman peace or American peace, are used to describe a world subject to a single empire. One possible alternative is war of all against all.