https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/04/24/ukraine-loses-war-end-western-hegemony-boris-johnson/
If Ukraine loses in the NATO proxy war with Russia,
I think it would be wrong for any historian to not at least acknowledge that idk some 80% of Russian military technology and current capabilities were inhereted from the USSR. Indeed the war was fought primarily with cold war era weapons from old NATO stocks and former USSR countries all sent to Ukraine. Its basically the cold war went hot scenario but 30 years later.
Even at the worst times the USSR was a far bigger geopolitical opponent than BRICS is or will likely ever be imo exactly because China doesn't want to fight the US military or otherwise and as such their strategy is to be friends with everyone at the same time.
The end result is even if the US ends up having to readjust their behavior they're still the only major power willing to force others to do their bidding.
Even at the worst times the USSR was a far bigger geopolitical opponent than BRICS is or will likely ever be imo exactly because China doesn't want to fight the US military or otherwise and as such their strategy is to be friends with everyone at the same time.
I think this part is a bit disingenuous. The USSR didn't invest in military because it wanted to do so against the US, it's because despite the constant pleas to de-escalate militarily, the US kept on increasing their military expenditure, forcing the USSR to do the same. China is now much more powerful compared to the US than the USSR ever was, possibly not militarily but definitely economically, and the ramp-up in military expenditure that NATO has forced for the past 2 years is only an appetizer of what it will do in order to preserve the status quo. The US sadly won't be dethroned front the hegemony without a fight that it will itself begin.