The post-World War II democratic international order is on life support.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises fears that China might try to take Taiwan by force. The United States did little, for example, after China shredded its treaty commitments on Hong Kong and extended China’s police state to the previously autonomous territory. The Biden administration may have encouraged China further when the White House walked back Biden’s off-the-cuff commitment that the U.S. would defend Taiwan. Biden’s willingness to ignore a “minor incursion” in Ukraine and prioritize the fight against climate change over efforts to counter both China’s genocidal campaign against the Uyghurs and Russia’s moves in Ukraine emboldens Beijing further.