Comment by mytailorisrich
5 days ago
That's interesting because the post-WWII Western alliance system at large is largely born of the US military and economic might: most of those countries were invaded by the US and then helped economically by the US. Obviously a commom adversary (the communists) helped but it was, and still is "led" by the US for a reason.
The global order is based on strength, both military and economic strength. I am just stating the obvious here.
Countries that joined NATO did so voluntarily. The pressure to join NATO was never from the US, it was always from Russia.
> The global order is based on strength,
To an extend yes, but small countries wouldn't be as eager or willing to play with the US, if the rules weren't largely followed.