Sub-Saharan Africa, the Sahel, the Middle East, Afghanistan. Like an octopus, Russia has extended its tentacles to every crisis riddled corner, filling the void created by the withdrawal of Western forces. Occasionally partnering with Turkey to better share the imperial burden, Vladimir Putin has once again inserted Moscow as a major player on the international scene. To what extent can it take the place of democratic powers?

Last month, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, called a snap election 2 years before it would normally have been held. His goal was to attain a majority for the Liberal Party so that he wouldn’t have to keep making deals with the smaller parties, typically the New Democratic Party (it’s like the left wing of the Democratic Party in the United States) or the Bloc Quebecois, a party with seats only in French-speaking Quebec.

The Australian-British-U.S. submarine deal may be a brilliant stroke, but it was done without strategic imagination. What was needed was a three-cornered billiard shot — pivot to Asia, yes, but keep our European allies on board and continue the fight against nuclear proliferation.

Will the changes of the past 20 years be enough to end 350 years of a unique relationship?