How Nations Gain/Loose Power Today

My dad has often said that the main reason why we don't have as many wars today is because of he nuclear bomb. While its certainly true that nobody wants to wage war out of fear of it going nuclear; wars of a different kind have still been fought for decades.

Why are wars fought?

A nation will declare war because it wants more power for itself.

Having a global economy has allowed these power hungry nations to gain more power without the need of acquiring more lands or more people. One thing we can learn from Putin's invasion of Ukraine, or "liberation of Ukraine" (as Putin so eloquently put it), is that it had an immediate negative impact on the nation's economy that will last generations regardless of whether or not Ukraine falls. Putin would of been better off leaving Ukraine alone and, instead, developing a better economic development strategy for his country.

In the information age, a nation will rise/fall based on its internal economy in relation to the global economy. A Country has a greater chance at gaining power by building relationships with other countries than by attempting to invade them.