This is what spelled doom for every Eurasian country that tried to become a global superpower in the modern era. Napoleon’s France conquered much of Europe but fell victim to a combination of rivals led by Great Britain. In the twentieth century, Germany was destroyed (twice) when its European enemies made common cause with the United States. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was thwarted by a ring of rivals from Northeast Asia to Western Europe, all backed by Washington. Hegemonic ambitions have long been the ruin of countries situated within Eurasia: The odds of being cornered and killed
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