In Robert D. Kaplan's book, "The Return of Marco Polo's World," he challenges the common belief that any regime change in countries like Russia or China would necessarily improve conditions. He argues that such changes could very well lead to worse outcomes than the current leadership under Putin and Xi Jinping, who, while bold, are rational actors that maintain stability by containing more extreme elements within their nations.

Kaplan suggests that the notion of replacing these leaders with more liberal governments is misleading. The complexities of global politics imply that a transition in power might not lead to the desired liberalization and could instead destabilize the region further, highlighting the unpredictable nature of regime changes in these powerful nations.