Donald Trump may, like Croesus, discover it is his own empire that gets destroyed.

Of course, the United States is not going to collapse. But the American president has done so much to undermine his country’s power that its era of global hegemony may be over. We will probably never go back to “Pax Americana”, the Latin for American peace.

Some may regret the end of US global dominance. After all, Washington has been a fairly benevolent hegemon. It was on the right side in the World War Two against Hitler and the Cold War against the Soviet Union.

But Pax Americana had many faults. Even before Trump got into the White House, the United States sometimes caused havoc by throwing its weight around – for example, during the Vietnam and Iraq wars.

So the rest of the world should not spend too much time mourning the end of Pax Americana. It should instead work to build a better world once Trump has gone. That particularly goes for those countries that care about the rule of law such as Greece and most of Europe.

We should strive to create what I call “Pax Planetana” – or planetary peace. This would be different from the world order that is vanishing, because the United States would not dominate it. There would not be a single hegemon which sometimes broke the rules it had helped create. This new world order would also pay more attention to saving our planet from the scourges of climate change.

This may seem an impossible dream. After all, it is not just America that has gone rogue. Russia has invaded Ukraine – and China is likely to throw its weight around more if it keeps building its power.

But we can create Pax Planeta IF WE WORK HARD AT AND HAVE SOME LUCK. First, the rest of the world needs to stand up to bullies. That means countries must build up their defences. They must also cut their dependency on both China and America for rare earths, energy, technology and finance.

Second, the European Union needs to get stronger and more united, because only it has the critical mass around which the rest of the world can rally. Europe has been too weak and divided. It has been slow to build its competitiveness – and often paralysed by the need for unanimity among its 27 members.

Third, America needs to come to its senses once a new president takes power. The United States will still be the world’s most powerful country. But it needs to engage with the rest of the world on a more equal basis. After the disasters of the Trump era, it may be less arrogant.

History didn’t end with Croesus’ attack on Persia; the ancient Greeks knew it was followed by the era of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We should ensure that Pax Americana, too, is followed by something better.”