alt Hacker News> One can only hope that another power that cares about rules fills the void.
There isn't one. You've got the US or nobody at this point, unfortunately.
> The US (or Trump) is the bigger threat because it is currently actively destroying the rule-based world order, which introduces exactly the lawlessness, chaotic times that opens the window for Iran and Russia to 'do business'.
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 when Trump wasn't president. Iran attacked Israel and kicked off a new and worse round of fighting in 2023 when Trump was also not president - the war today is just a continuation of that latest round.
While he has done some damage to the alliance by being a jackoff he also forced Europe to spend more which was required for defense. Europe also made itself dependent on Russian oil and gas, even recently France un-sanctioned some Russian billionaires and is making some awful decisions too.
There isn't one. You've got the US or nobody at this point, unfortunately.
Your belief in US exceptionalism is interesting. Even more so, because it is so obvious that the power that will soon overtake the US economically is very likely to fill that void. But they will also get all the benefits of that role and the US will slowly lose them.
In fact, they have already been stepping in the US' former shoes. Some EU leaders mentioned to Zelensky that the only reason that Russia hasn't used nukes against Ukraine is because China said 'no'. In better (depending on perspective) times, it would have been the US as its role of world leader/police to enforce such implicit rules.
It is true that China is currently supporting Russia, but it's mostly of their interest to drain NATO and increase their power over Eurasia. Well, thanks to Trump they proceeding very fast. Or as the Chinese like to say "Trump the nation builder".