Civil Defense Perspectives vol. 38 #4
Many commentators refer to the “American Empire,” and the state of America is frequently compared with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. The U.S. has no formal colonial administrations like the British did, and nations have no formal colonial status. Yet the U.S. could surely be considered a hegemon, as it has some 600 off-shore military bases, dominant economic power, and strong political influence. “Regime change” occurs often in countries that oppose American policy. “Imperialism” has a strong negative connotation, suggesting exploitation and treatment of vassal states as inferiors.
Victor Davis Hanson explores various empires, noting that a common feature is leaders believing that their policies were motivated by the desire to do good and not merely by self interest.
The Athenian Empire required conquered city-states to become democracies. A good objective? It threatened to destroy any who opposed it, and sent a force of 40,000 troops to Syracuse to conquer the largest democracy in the Greek world. This Sicilian Expedition ended the Athenian Empire itself. Astonishingly, in the war between Athens and the oligarchy Sparta, most Greeks wanted Sparta to win (http://tinyurl.com/mry28cnk).
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