I don't think that national interests really mattered anytime in any country. That is just a tool to keep power. Maybe it's important for some politician, but focusing on power grab is way more beneficial at the top.
Skepticism is healthy, full on pessimism "everything is just a power grab" is extremely unhealthy.
Politics is a highly competitive game. Those who do not optimize for maximizing their power and carrier advances are operating at a disadvantage.
I agree but lets extend this same treatment not just to Westerners but to Eastern people too, otherwise it is just hypocrisy. I say this because the top comment on a previous post about Djokovic claims that his PCR test is genuine not because he was really positive with Covid, but because his family is influential with the Serbian government. This sort of prejudice and discrimination is plain disgusting