For months, diplomats and analysts have been concerned that prolonged political instability in the United States could prompt aggression. This includes Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine, North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and China's expansionist activities in the South China Sea.
Now, with so few days until the U.S. presidential election, the broader geopolitical crisis has escalated in the Middle East. The targeted killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran have intensified fears of a region-wide conflict, which the United States, preoccupied with its political turmoil, may struggle to prevent or contain.
