Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Chas Freeman: Imperial Overstretch - 500 Years of Dominance Come to an End
Oct 25, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Chas Freeman, a former U.S. diplomat with extensive experience in defense and Middle East affairs, shares his insights on the decline of Western dominance after 500 years. He explores the transition from unipolar hegemony to a multinodal order, highlighting leadership vacuums and regional power shifts. Freeman critiques Europe’s dependency on U.S. security and discusses how post-Cold War militarism took hold, as well as the role of sanctions in shaping global relationships.
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End Of Western Hegemony
- The five-century Western global dominance is ending and a multinodal world is emerging.
- China champions restoring international law while the U.S. undermines the order it created.
Restore Rules Through Regionalism
- Preserve institutions and revive international law rather than tearing down the postwar order.
- Support regional arrangements that embed WTO rules if global mechanisms fail.
Multinodal World Rising
- The coming order will be multinodal, not unipolar or bipolar.
- China lacks appetite for U.S.-style hegemony, leaving a leadership vacuum.
