This really is a testament to the loss of American soft power.
The US stepping back and prioritizing corporate profits and short-term domestic political gain has really harmed them. George W. Bush's administration did incredible damage, Trump effectively tripled that damage.
Couple that with China's Belts-and-Roads initiatives and Russia's bargain-bin-imperialism in the middle east and north Africa and you can see how we got here.
There is some evidence that Nepal (and maybe India?) are having their youth lured into forced mercenary work. They're traveling there for other work and then essentially being kidnapped and pressed into service. Nepal's been warning its citizens about these schemes for months now.
To be fair, none of these countries look like places where the current world order is particularly favourable for them. Why should we be surprised by maps like this?
