The U.S./China Stealth War and Global Realignment: The Dual Chessboards of Venezuela and Taiwan (2026)

Abstract

This article employs the Power Transition Theory (PTT) to examine the intensifying stealth war between the United States and China, focusing on the strategic interplay between Venezuela and Taiwan. Using a comparative case study of the January 2026 U.S. intervention in Venezuela, the research analyzes the “Precedent Paradox”: by reviving the Monroe Doctrine to secure its own hemisphere, Washington has inadvertently provided a legitimizing framework for Beijing’s revisionist claims. This “strategic window” allows China to employ gray-zone mirroring tactics in the Taiwan Strait. Ultimately, while the U.S. has shored up its near abroad, it has fractured global equilibrium toward fragmented regional competition.