[rich_sasha]

> Honest question, for I don't know the answer

Probably depends where etc. In the context of Russia in Europe, I guess it would have been less stable. Ever since the 1990s, Russia has been steadily ramping up the aggressive rhetoric against Eastern Europe, even against NATO countries. This wasn't entirely some kind of "you are a threat" kind of thing, but a lot of "you are only temporarily outside the Russian sphere, don't get used to it". Russia also pushed to expand its influence by force in Georgia, Ukraine (twice now), and I'd argue Belarus, where they prop up an unpopular tyrant. So for Europe, NATO has absolutely been a stabilizing force, and it's absence would only make Russian aggression worse.

But moving away from Europe and into the Middle East, I wonder if that's true. NATO and co did various interventions, in hindsight quite disastrous, that not only failed to achieve their goals but also destabilized the region. How would that part of the world look without a strong, united and emboldened Western coalition? Possibly happier and stabler.

But who knows, the fallen Middle Eastern dictators were pretty horrid.