The End of Illusions
In recent years, and with increasing clarity, the world has been entering a phase of global conflict that many analysts now define as a de facto world war, even if it has not yet been formally declared by all the actors involved. International tensions are no longer episodic or confined to specific regional areas; they are manifesting simultaneously across multiple theaters, involving nuclear powers, opposing military alliances, and the entire global economic system.
The idea of an international order based on cooperation, peaceful globalization, and multilateral mediation increasingly appears as a relic of the past. The ideological and rhetorical veils that for decades masked the true nature of contemporary conflicts are falling away. What now emerges clearly are the real drivers of the confrontation: a global geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic struggle between what can be defined as the Anglo-Saxon empire—primarily led by the United States and supported by allies such as the United Kingdom, NATO, and Indo-Pacific partners—and the Eurasian bloc mainly represented by Russia and China.
This article analyzes in depth the structural reasons behind this historical phase, explaining why it is not a passing crisis but a radical transformation of the world order.
1. From a Unipolar World to Multipolar Chaos
1.1 The Collapse of the Post–Cold War Illusion
After 1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the idea of a unipolar world dominated by the United States took hold. This arrangement was presented as the “end of history”: an era in which Western liberal democracy and financial capitalism would guarantee global stability and prosperity.
In reality, that order was intrinsically unstable. Anglo-Saxon supremacy rested on three pillars: military dominance, financial control, and cultural influence. However, NATO’s eastward expansion, preventive wars, the systematic use of economic sanctions, and the imposition of external political models progressively eroded the legitimacy of this system.
1.2 The Emergence of Multipolarity
Russia and China interpreted the unipolar period not as the end of conflict, but as a phase of strategic encirclement. From this perspective arose their decision to promote a multipolar world in which no single power could unilaterally dictate the rules of the game.
Multipolarity is not merely a theoretical vision; it is a concrete response to decades of military expansion, economic pressure, and political interference. The growing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is one of the clearest signs of this structural shift.
2. The Geopolitical Confrontation: Territories, Alliances, and Spheres of Influence
2.1 Geopolitics and the Return of History
Geopolitics, understood as competition for control over strategic spaces, has returned to the center of international relations. From Eastern Europe to the Middle East, from the Arctic to the Indo-Pacific, every region has become a piece on a global chessboard.
The Anglo-Saxon empire aims to maintain control over maritime routes, strategic chokepoints, and regional alliances. NATO, far from being a purely defensive alliance, has evolved into a tool for projecting Western power well beyond the North Atlantic.
2.2 Russia: Existential Security and Strategic Depth
For Russia, geopolitics is прежде all an existential matter. Russian history is marked by invasions from the West, and the loss of strategic depth after 1991 was perceived as a direct threat.
NATO enlargement, the deployment of missile systems, and Western support for regime change in post-Soviet states have reinforced Moscow’s belief that confrontation was unavoidable. From this perspective, Russian actions are viewed as defensive, even when they appear aggressive on the international stage.
2.3 China: The Indo-Pacific as the Epicenter of Confrontation
China represents the most significant systemic challenge to Anglo-Saxon hegemony. Its demographic weight, industrial capacity, and technological development make it an actor impossible to contain using traditional tools alone.
The South China Sea, Taiwan, and regional alliances such as AUKUS and the QUAD are the main fronts of this confrontation. For Beijing, control over its surrounding waters and national reunification are non-negotiable; for Washington, limiting China’s expansion is an absolute strategic priority.
3. Geoeconomics: The True Global Battlefield
3.1 Sanctions, Value Chains, and Economic Warfare
If past wars were fought primarily with weapons, the current conflict has geoeconomics as one of its principal theaters. Sanctions, tariffs, technological blockades, and control over supply chains have become instruments of war in their own right.
The Anglo-Saxon empire uses its dominance over the dollar, international payment systems, and global financial institutions as levers of political pressure. However, the excessive use of these economic weapons is producing counterproductive effects.
3.2 De-dollarization and Economic Fragmentation
Russia and China, together with other emerging countries, are working to reduce dependence on the dollar and to create alternative financial circuits. Bilateral agreements in local currencies, new development banks, and independent payment systems signal the fragmentation of the global economy.
This trend does not indicate the immediate collapse of the Western system, but it reveals its structural cracks. Globalization as we have known it is giving way to competing economic blocs.
3.3 Energy, Resources, and Economic Security
Control over energy resources and critical raw materials is another central element of geoeconomics. Gas, oil, rare earths, and semiconductors have become strategic assets.
Russia uses its energy resources as a tool of influence, while China dominates many key industrial supply chains. The West, for its part, seeks to reduce dependencies but is discovering how difficult it is to reconfigure production networks built over decades.
4. Geostrategy: Deterrence, Rearmament, and New Military Doctrines
4.1 The Return of Nuclear Deterrence
One of the most alarming aspects of the current historical phase is the explicit return of nuclear deterrence to the center of military strategies. Arms control treaties are being suspended or abandoned, while major powers invest in new weapons systems.
This does not mean that nuclear war is inevitable, but it does indicate a lowering of the psychological and political thresholds that for decades had constrained escalation.
4.2 Hybrid Wars and Permanent Conflict
Contemporary world war does not resemble those of the twentieth century. It is a hybrid war, fought with military, cyber, economic, and informational means. Cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage, and proxy conflicts are all part of a single global strategy.
In this context, the distinction between peace and war becomes increasingly blurred. Many countries already live in a state of permanent low- or medium-intensity conflict.
4.3 The Militarization of Alliances
Alliances are transforming from deterrent mechanisms into systems of permanent mobilization. Rising military spending, weapons standardization, and joint exercises indicate systemic preparation for large-scale conflicts.
This process fuels a vicious cycle: the more one side arms itself, the more the other perceives a threat, accelerating rearmament even further.
5. Why We Can Speak of a World War Without Veils
5.1 A Global Conflict Already Underway
Although there is no formal declaration of world war, the key elements are already present: involvement of major powers, global extension of fronts, economic mobilization, and constant war narratives.
The difference compared to the past is largely semantic. Speaking of “crises,” “special operations,” or “strategic competition” makes the conflict more palatable for public opinion, but it does not change its substance.
5.2 Clarity About the Real Motives
The real motives of the confrontation are now evident: this is not about isolated events or individual leaders, but about a systemic struggle to determine who will set the rules of the world in the twenty-first century.
The Anglo-Saxon empire seeks to defend an order that has guaranteed its supremacy; Russia and China aim to build a new one, more favorable to their interests and, in their view, more balanced.
Conclusion: A World at a Historic Crossroads
The world is entering a phase of world war declared in practice, if not yet in words. International tensions are not temporary anomalies but symptoms of a profound historical transition.
Understanding the geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic dimensions of this confrontation is essential to move beyond media simplifications and grasp what is truly at stake. The future of the world order will depend on the ability of the major powers to manage this confrontation without turning it into an irreversible catastrophe.
In any case, the veils have fallen: global competition is open, and the world is already paying the price.
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Is the world already in a de facto world war? An in-depth geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic analysis of global power rivalry between the West, Russia, and China.