[Always A Marine]

I maintain that in the modern world, holding together a large Nation State is extremely difficult. Unconventional warfare can disrupt social control, energy, food supply, etc... governments can probably be collapsed more easily than many suspect... I think the time of Nation States with 300 million residents, and thousand mile imaginary borders may be passing.

James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg made these points in their 1991 book, The Great Reckoning. Their overall theme was that there are short (60-80 years) and long (500 years) of history that illustrate societal evolution and devolution as well as transitions between the great powers that dominate world affairs. One of their most immediately relevant points was that the costs of chaos are growing incredibly cheaper, while the costs of maintaining order are growing ever more prohibitively expensive. Davidson and Rees-Mogg argued that today's devolutionary forces spell doom for all multicultural societies - including the USA, Russia and even Canada - and the rise of smaller, more homogenous nations and city-states. It is a future of worldwide Balkanization.

[blam]

"James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg made these points in their 1991 book, The Great Reckoning."

I have that book.