The spectre of armies shifting positions and moving into place on distant sides of the world, and of diplomats crafting statements and shuttling about, invokes images from the last century. The idea of Europe in flames, Asia in danger and the Middle East seething suggests a perpetual state of global crisis while the players contemplate their next moves. Russian forces gnawing at Ukraine on land, at sea and in the air give the appearance of wild animals hovering over their prey. And the forces opposing them, not just Ukraine but all the member states of Nato, are sounding like angry…