Between two Western European powers? Which ones?
The British and the French fought multiple times in the 1800s, and also in the early 1900s. One would expect further fights...
What stopped de Gaulle from thinking about being a second Napoleon, if not US hegemony?
Spain, Italy, France, the UK, and Germany have gross revenues of more than $1T each, more than three times those of the largest corporations.
Said revenues are controlled by political processes, which are staffed by people that can be influenced or outright bought for trivial sums - a few thousands or millions. The returns to investing in lobbying are well known and can be astronomical.
"The British and the French fought multiple times in the 1800s, and also in the early 1900s. One would expect further fights..."
Citation? Britain and France haven't fought since Napoleon's defeat in 1815.
"What stopped de Gaulle from thinking about being a second Napoleon, if not US hegemony?"
The fact that the French population would never stomach it, given that they had just gotten out from under four years of brutal German occupation with American and British support?
"Said revenues are controlled by political processes, which are ...
A monthly thread for posting rationality-related quotes you've seen recently (or had stored in your quotesfile for ages).