The Emergence of the Multi-Polar Authoritarian World Audiobook By Robbin Laird cover art

The Emergence of the Multi-Polar Authoritarian World

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The Emergence of the Multi-Polar Authoritarian World

By: Robbin Laird
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 The Shadow Empire: How Authoritarians Built a Parallel World Order

While America was fighting the war on terror, China and Russia were building something far more dangerous: an alternative to the entire Western system.

The "rules-based international order" is crumbling. Not from external attack, but from internal rot and external alternatives. While Western leaders still speak as if American dominance is eternal, authoritarian powers have quietly constructed a shadow empire—complete with parallel financial systems, trade networks, and political alliances that make Western sanctions increasingly toothless.

This is the story of how we got here.

For fifteen years, the analysts at Second Line of Defense and Defense.info watched in real-time as the multipolar authoritarian world took shape. They witnessed China's economic tentacles reach across continents. They tracked Russia's energy leverage over Europe long before Ukraine. They documented the rise of a "Global South" that no longer needs Western approval to thrive.

The uncomfortable truth: America's foreign policy elite is fighting the last war while losing the current one.

Trapped in the "mental amber" of the unipolar moment and the tactical mindset of post-9/11 counterterrorism, Washington struggles to comprehend a world where:
  • Western sanctions barely dent authoritarian economies
  • Russia sells oil and gas despite "extreme measures" to stop it
  • China, Iran, and North Korea operate their own financial networks
  • The Global South sees authoritarianism as a viable alternative to democracy
The questions that matter now:
  • How did we miss the construction of this parallel world order?
  • Why do Western sanctions no longer have the "bite" they once did?
  • What happens when half the world stops playing by Western rules?
  • Can democracies adapt to a multipolar reality they didn't see coming?
Through real-time analysis spanning fifteen crucial years, this collection reveals how authoritarian powers exploited Western complacency to build their own system—one that may prove more durable than the order it's replacing.

"This book provides a significant contribution to our understanding of how we came to live in a multi-polar, authoritarian world. I urge you to read it and ponder its many lessons." —Brian Morra, Strategic Analyst and Author

Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the world as it actually is, not as we wish it were.
 International Relations Military Politics & Government Public Policy War Leadership Middle East Russia American Foreign Policy Parallel Universe
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