I don’t know how we can say “does not bode well for a world that is supposed to be done with power politics” when the U.S. uses power politics as a regular practice. In fact, that is probably what has led us to this current situation. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Russia was in a position of little power and we pushed them around because we could. As they prosper and their power increases, they are pushing back. And we’re surprised?