talking about total destruction of infrastructure
I don't see how human beings can manage to escalate something up to a certain very high threshold, and then walk it back down. Our history does not support such outcomes.
I mean - I suppose there is India and Pakistan - but they are truly Martians when compared to other peoples.
Germany lost something in WWI, and then tried to get it back and had to get destroyed before it calmed down. Hungary lost territory - TWICE - and is still trying to get it back. Russia lost some recently, and the jury is still out on whether it will manage to get it back. These things don't pass without a trace...
If one thinks its possible to leave the French or Brits without electricity and that they will surrender the next day - maybe... But maybe not? They may decide to fight back, and then we all end up burning each other to a crisp.
Incidentally - I think this might be a good thing. I was recently reading a new paper of fertility patterns in Europe during the medieval period, and guess what - the population exploded after the Black Death.
With the way things are headed now, populations require a real shake up to start making babies again. Maybe, if there were suddenly hundreds of millions of unoccupied houses and apartments - this would be incentive enough for the survivors to start planning famillies again.