There is a stigma around the term ‘proxy’. It invokes a caricature of a puppet master pulling strings. In the context of conflict, it suggests that one party is being forced to fight and die at the direction of a more powerful party. In reality, there are no puppets, only actors with layered motivations and abilities.

The current trajectory of the “America First” is not isolationism, but perhaps a turn to predatory unipolarity. America is gambling with its long-standing global stability for short-term material gains, which could potentially bring chaos and weakening to American hegemony and global order.

Power has returned as the primary language of international relations. Not hidden, not disguised, but openly asserted. And pretending otherwise does not make Europe principled, it makes Europe irrelevant.

For Gen-Z, this is the usual way of entertainment. For conservative politicians, this is the new frontier in the war for power hegemony. While the U.S. debates the identity politics at home; Japan, Korea, and China have been reshaping global imagination in the West and beyond.

For Australia to maintain diplomatic balance as a middle power under Ungerer’s (2007) definition as a regional stabiliser and multilateral advocate, soft-power leadership and investments in international development are essential.

Middle powers are countries that, while not great powers, have significant influence in international relations through diplomacy, regional concentration, and more flexible partnerships. Other than traditional powers that focus more on ideological alliances or military strength, middle powers concentrate on solutions over status and act as bridge-builders detached from values.

This is no longer just a story of young people leaving and aging societies with significant internal migrations reshaping the spatial structure of the countries. It is the story of a region that has leveraged the EU integration context to ascend economically, but is demographically on the brink of erosion. Because where there is a vacuum, capital, influence, infrastructure—and often geopolitics—flow in.

War can no longer be seen as a local failure; it is reproducing itself within a system that has failed to regulate it. And democracies, far from being immune, are active participants. The challenge is no longer just to stop a war. It is to prevent more from joining the wave.

At the heart of Taiwan's struggle against China’s One China policy, bubble tea stands as a testament to the island's perseverance. Through each tapioca pearl and every cup served, Taiwan quietly but firmly makes its point: It is not just surviving; it is thriving. The island’s voice is heard. Not through force, but through culture, flavor, and resilience.

Trump's offer to buy Greenland is not a mere presidential fantasy; it goes much further and is aligned with a broader interest of power.