European and Mideastern wars have been dominated by two geopolitical forces since Waterloo – the reach of Russia for more power and the power vacuums resulting from the collapse of the Ottoman empire. Those two basic forces are still in play and are more important than the transient ideologies (socialism, national socialism, communism) that everyone focuses on. As such one could well write an article asking if the Crimean War hasn’t ended.
Currently reading A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire. The parallels between the Austrian Empire under Franz Joseph, and the U.S. under Obama, are quite scary.
European and Mideastern wars have been dominated by two geopolitical forces since Waterloo – the reach of Russia for more power and the power vacuums resulting from the collapse of the Ottoman empire. Those two basic forces are still in play and are more important than the transient ideologies (socialism, national socialism, communism) that everyone focuses on. As such one could well write an article asking if the Crimean War hasn’t ended.