Get ready to laugh, folks! We’re talking about the trends in public opinion across the world… yeah, it’s a thrilling topic. But seriously, you won’t believe what’s been going on outside of the “democratic bloc.” For like, a whole decade, people from all sorts of countries stretching from Eurasia to the north and west of Africa actually started to like Russia more. Can you believe it? Meanwhile, Western folks were shaking their fists and fuming with hostility. It’s like an episode of the Twilight Zone, amirite?

Oh, and don’t even get me started on China! People in Europe, the Anglosphere, and Pacific Rim democracies all turned on them well before Covid-19 came into the picture. Meanwhile, countries in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central Asia were loving them some China. What is going on? It’s like we’re living in some bizarro version of the world where the good guys and bad guys are all mixed up.

But wait, there’s more! Putin’s war in Ukraine was supposed to shift these trends, but did it really? Russia did lose a little popularity in the year 2022, but overall, people from developing countries were still giving them more love than the United States. And get this – for the first time, they were also warmer to China than to America. Hello? This is not a drill. We might need to change our opinions about who’s in the cool kids’ club.

In conclusion, the Ukraine conflict has put the spotlight on a new geopolitical struggle between two groups. On one side, we have the American-led “maritime alliance of democracies.” On the other, we have an alliance of authoritarian regimes anchored in Eurasia. And you know what’s weird? The authoritarian side actually seems to have more support than we thought! Who knew? It’s like the bad guys somehow managed to get the world to like them. It’s a mad, mad world we’re living in, people.