A story is not like a road to follow...it's more like a house. You go inside and stay there for a while, wandering back and forth and settling where you like and discovering how the room and corridors relate to each other, how the world outside is altered by being viewed from these windows.
The causal perspective is the key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe.
The tragedy of great power politics is that even well-intentioned states are forced to act in ways that can lead to conflict and war.