The bifurcation of the world is now upon us.

Nobody can predict the future, however here we are in May 2023, and certain things are becoming abundantly clear, even to the most casual observer of geopolitics.

When we look back at history, we can identify certain events that changed world trajectory forever. NATO expansion right up to the Russian border will be remembered as one such event.

A year ago, when the Western/Russian conflict started, I wrote this article : www.osamamadlom.com/pivotal-moments-in-history/ in which I described the event as a significant moment in history.

Events since then have only hardened my view in this regard. The relentless expansion of NATO beyond Russian red lines have forced Russia to act in a pre-emptive manner, much like Israel did against the Egyptian Army in the 1967 Six Day war. Of course this current war has been a long time in the making. Relations between the US and Russia were on poor terms even before this conflict, and Ukraine had been armed and trained (by NATO) for many years leading up to the conflict.

What makes this different to previous conflicts will be the long lasting schism in the world order. For hundreds of years, the world has been led from Anglo Saxon / European powers, but this is now changing, but not in a good way.

In what seems like endless wars for decades on end, the USA as a military and political force is past it's zenith, both in relative and absolute terms. Nations in Asia and the global South have coalesced into blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the so called BRICS group of nations seem to grow by the year and whose GDP will soon match that of the G7.

Witnessing how the USA has weaponised the dollar against her enemies, these nations are now realising that they can no longer rely on Western institutions lest they be the next target of sanctions as Russia currently is. The current move away from the dollar reminds me very much of the former British Empire realms declaring independence one after another in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Now, countries are declaring independence from the US dollar and forming their own trading blocs and alliances, with probable new (gold backed perhaps?) currencies. Make no mistake, the world is splitting into two very distinct economic and political spheres.

You have the Anglo-Saxon/European world on the one hand, who have declining populations and little hydrocarbon resources, and on the other hand, you have Asia and Russia who have most of the resources and most of the human capital in the world.

As Mackinder said, who controls the geopolitical heartland controls the world.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it is just starting to feel as if the Western world is isolating themselves and they seem to be more and more on the periphery when it comes to the next 50/100 years. Asian countries and Russia seem to be building alternative financial and governance architectures that more suit their own needs as opposed to the Western centric model.

Prior to the Ukraine war, the world was more connected and trading more freely, albeit using the dollar as world reserve currency.

NATO expansion has triggered a Russian reaction, but this has snowballed into a more general movement away from the yoke of dollar control. In fact I would go as far to say that the relentless expansion of NATO has backfired massively on the West. Much like Empires of old, over expansion is always their downfall. That can pretty much be said for the USA, who has tried to control global affairs for so many decades, but is now running on fumes. Open talk of a default shows just how perilous the situation is.  

With $31 trillion of debt and a suite of aggressive foreign policies, the USA has indirectly encouraged Asian nations to slowly make their way to the exits and are asserting their own sovereignty. Much like the former British colonies, these countries have decided that enough is enough, they want out. If they form a new gold back currency, the bifurcation of the world will be even more stark.

We will have on the one hand, a financial system probably based around gold, where in the West we may still be relying on a printing press and excessive credit to drive "growth".

At this stage, it is looking extremely unlikely that the world will go back to how it was. New structures and platforms are being built as we speak. Long in the making, but with little impetus to get them off the drawing board, relentless Western escapades have been the final nudge needed to construct new global platforms that will change the world forever.