What to Expect from The American Empire In Retreat, And With Trump At The Helm

“The price of empire,” wrote J. William Fulbright, “is America’s soul, and that price is too high.” Consequently, the U.S. Senator from Arkansas had known this for some time. He not only saw how McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee had torn America’s soul in two, but he became known for his fervent opposition to America’s involvement in Vietnam. As the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he also delivered a speech calling on the U.S. to adapt itself to a world that was both changing and complex, and leaving America behind.

Since any empire that’s founded by war must maintain itself by war, the American empire and its military are both a shell of their former selves. They may still seem to be functioning, but the extent of their retreat is clearly revealed by examining their influence in the different regions of the world. From the Americas and Europe to Africa and the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, there are many goals that aren’t being achieved. As for a few successes, they’ve been outweighed by American irrelevance and the many cases of outright failure-deadly and costly ones at that.

Retreating from The Americas - At Home and Abroad

Because the U.S. empire began in the Americas, specifically North America with the young Republic, it’s expected that this is where it would last the longest. But even now cracks are starting to appear. In “1984”, George Orwell imagined the exploitation of those living in an empire most subject to its intoxication. He warned it not only imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it, but they could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality. This is because they can never fully grasp the enormity of what was demanded of them. They simply swallowed everything.

Many Americans are testing this imposed reality, no longer swallowing everything. Feeling cut off from the empire and its spoils of war, and what they believe to be their inherited and natural birthright as American citizens, they’re sensing a deep collective wound. It’s the wound of a declining empire, and it’s exposing the dark, raw emotions of rage, hatred, envy, and despair which lacks patriotism. This goes for a growing white underclass and a youthful generation. To be sure, and since the fate of empires depends on the education of youth, the future of America’s empire looks very bleak.

Something else that looks bleak is U.S. leadership in Latin America. Countries that were close allies have defied any modest successes America has tried to impose. Canada and Mexico have bucked American trade policies. What should’ve been an easy coup in Venezuela is now becoming a nightmare for U.S. policy makers - politically and morally. This goes for a new Russian-Cuban Cold War alliance, where Russia just stationed long range bombers. The BRICS nations, with its new currency and China taking the lead, is making inroads into Brazil, Haiti, Nicaragua, and many other Latin American nations.

A Lost Empire in Search of New Roles
Since the Cold War, Europe has been willing to play a supportive role in the American empire. This too may be coming to an end. The rift over President Donald Trump’s view of NATO, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the 18-year war in Afghanistan has caused Europe to question their junior partnership and dependence on U.S. security. Another sticking point is Ukraine and Iran. With Russia’s recent takeover of Crimea, European nations are wondering why the U.S. hasn’t taken stronger actions. There’s a disagreement over Europe’s P5+1 treaty with Iran as well, in which the U.S. reneged on.

One necessary condition of the American empire has always been superior power. Sub-Saharan Africa is no different. And yet, the U.S. is finding it hard to protect its interests. It’s not only locked in a continuous battle against dozens of Islamic groups in Nigeria, Somalia, and Chad, but some 100 other missions across 20 African nations. Nor is it a match for China’s new role: economic development and enhanced cooperation. Or the view that, “Numerous grains of earth make a mountain, numerous drops of water form an ocean.” This may win out over America’s empire and history of militarism.

In the Middle East, a new Russia-Turkey-Iran alliance is also winning out over America’s archaic role. This, despite overthrowing the Ba’athists in Iraq, Afghanistan’s Taliban, and Libya’s Muammar al-Ghaddhafi. These and other promising futures never transpired, with the results far from what imperial America expected. But Russia, Turkey and Iran transpired, working jointly on economic projects and military exercises. America’s client states in the region have moreover become increasingly reluctant to an empire’s bidding. Offering Saudi Arabia nuclear secrets makes America look that much more desperate.

To Foresee the Future, Look At The Past
Another hotspot is the Asia-Pacific, a region where American power was projected for over two centuries. But America’s accumulated territories, protectorates, and client states are reconsidering their alliances. This is due to the Trump Administration’s rejection of the Trans Pacific Partnership and China’s ascendancy-again. America’s policy towards China has actually moved from paternalism to containment. Containing China is proving to be impossible-and improbable. Its economic strength, its geography, and its cultural ties to the region is replacing America as the hegemonic power in the Asia-Pacific.

Will Durant wrote that, “Empires won by conquest have always fallen either by revolt within or by defeat by a rival.” He too should know, since he wrote: “The Story of Civilization.” In his 11-volume set, he specifically mentioned the one thing which caused the collapse of the Roman Empire. It was a series of bad emperors. Emperors who were not only after their own wealth, power, and aggrandizement, but reflected a narcissistic, sociopathic personality. This included repulsive behavior, such as lying, impulsiveness, bullying, violent rhetoric, and an inability to sort out illusion form reality.

Some political experts believe this description fits Donald Trump. He too fears a loss of supremacy, of his place in the world as embodied through America. His self-image, subject to inflation, arrogance, and a morphing into hubris, is even more dangerous. So is his belief in his own invincibility and America’s exceptionalism. It’s quite possible that his “Make America Great Again” was a compensatory antidote to the America empire in retreat. When this part of his and his followers’ collective psyche is activated, it can only sow the seeds of its own destruction. A slow and painful one which knows no limits.

It’s clear then that America’s imperial presence has been waning. The Trump Administration’s tracking of journalists and human rights activists at the border, or its ruthless attacks against opponents, shows a weakened president and regime. So does its imaginary relationship with North Korea and their supposed destruction of nuclear weapons. Guantanamo Bay’s illegal expansion in Cuba and the recolonization of Venezuela are simply more signs of a bygone empire trying to hold on to the past. A past which continues to learn that the price of empire and its militarism is too high.

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John’s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.WN.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and www.WN.com/dallasdarling.