The Empire Strikes Back: But This Time, the Empire Isn’t America

A global power shift of epic proportions is underway, as a new trio of empires—India, China, and Russia—strikes back against the US-led world order. Their recent, powerful display of unity at the SCO summit was a declaration that they are ready to lead a “new world order,” marking a historic challenge to decades of American supremacy.
The seismic nature of this event was captured by analyst Van Jones, who warned that the alliance of Modi, Xi, and Putin should “send a chill down the spine of every American.” He interprets this as a concerted and strategic campaign to end the unipolar moment and replace it with a multipolar system where power is shared among several great nations.
This counter-hegemonic movement is fueled by a shared and growing frustration with American unilateralism. The US’s use of its economic might, particularly through tariffs, as a tool of coercion has provided the perfect catalyst for these powers to unite. They are rebelling against a system they feel is designed to perpetually benefit the United States.
For America, the strategic implications are dire. The country has been outmaneuvered and finds itself in a precarious position of isolation. As Jones starkly put it, the US is “in a box,” facing a world that is no longer following its lead but is instead uniting against it, a dangerous and unprecedented situation for the modern superpower.