The notion that the relative power of the west is receding as emerging economies gain political and strategic heft is not novel. It is clear, too, from the Syrian crisis, that the new great powers, including a reinvigorated Russia, are deeply averse to interference in what they see as inalienable sovereign rights – an attitude explained in many instances by their former colonial or dependent status.

Moscow, unreconciled with the loss of empire, takes a particularly harsh stance. This positioning leads in turn to reluctance to give multilateral cover to armed intervention, as demonstrated by the wrangling in the UN Security Council since the beginning of the Syrian insurrection in 2011.

In light of these developments, the west was inevitably going to lose some of its ability to set the global agenda and to conduct foreign military operations. This process has been accelerated by the west’s economic slowdown since 2007.