I would need more to defend than just a Flag or Land area. I'm not killing myself or others for some line on a map.
I.e. would it cause massive suffering for people if the war is lost?
I've read a lot of modern fiction set in the 1930s. The authors almost always have a character who can't leave Europe because they are caring for an elderly parent.
Alan Furst has been writing WW2 era spy books for a while now. "Night Soldiers" is about a young Bulgarian fisherman whose brother is killed by a fascist mob. He gets recruited by the KGB and after training in Moscow he is sent to fight in the Spanish Civil War.
Philip Kerr wrote a series of books about a Berlin private eye. Ex-cop Bernie Gunther is a WW1 veteran who loves Germany and who could have left any time, but stayed on until it was too late.
Also, I meant a calm transition from America being top dog to another power. Russia and China aren't going to share power nicely and there are enough countries with nukes to make the whole thing really unstable.
Ya, I don't think Vance would accomplish much, he definitely doesn't have the same charisma or followers.
True, things would definitely get interesting if the US wasn't the top power. You don't think China and Russia would team up? Or you think thats only because "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"?