A multipolar world restores the naval presence mission

This interpretation treats the Cold War's bipolar alliance system as an unusual interval within a longer history of multipolar competition. States normally possess different degrees of regional and global power, so a locally strong government need not be the strongest worldwide. During the Cold War, an alliance could signal increased attention by arranging visits from members based progressively farther away. That reduced the need to demonstrate escalation with larger national warships. Renewed multipolar competition restores demand for a large surface combatant able to provide regional presence. Governments accustomed to avoiding the cruiser label can still acquire much of that role as destroyers grow toward roughly 10,000 tons.