Neo-colonialism

 The Europeans practised colonialism. A European was the resident Head of State, and the European Head of State was the ultimate Head of State. So a British Queen or King was the official Head of State of India as well as about 25% of the world.

The Americans always practised neocolonialism. Starting with the Monroe Doctrine, all of Latin America belonged to the US. The US picked a tiny minority--the Criollos--to be the rulers, gave them lots of money and weapons, and they let the US take all the natural resources from their country, paying starvation wages to the peons who did all the actual work.

Then, after WWII, the US applied the same to everything outside the Warsaw Pact. Vietnam did not work out all that well, but, starting with Reagan, the US transformed the brutal dictatorships and state sponsors of terror--Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Libya--into peaceful and prosperous Democracies! Maybe the Grenadians, Panamanians, Yugoslavs, Afghans, and Libyans do not agree, but they are not allowed to participate in the discussion.

Now the world has 2 powers that challenge the US of A: Russia and the PRC, and both must be utterly destroyed.

Sadly, in the Ukraine, Russia has massive logistical advantages, allowing Russia to defeat the US-backed Ukrainians. Terrible.

And the PRC are now militarily superior to the US (at a tiny fraction the cost).

In 1941, the US wanted to destroy Japan, so they ordered a complete blockade (an act of war) and Japan responded by sinking the entire US Pacific fleet.

After which, Americans who'd been starving and would not go to work (because no one would offer them a job) were drafted into the US military and US defence plants, and in 6 months, the US had a new fleet, that engaged in a battle with Japan that sank both the Japanese fleet and the US fleet. But after 6 months, the US had a new fleet and Japan did not, and the US was able to bomb Japan and eventually nuke Japan.

Sadly, Russia and the PRC ain't Japan. The PRC, if the US and PRC fleets go into battle and sink each other, can and will build a new fleet faster than the US can. And Russia have far more nukes than the US. Russia are a 'No First Use' nation (unlike the US), but that should (unless our leaders are stark raving mad, which I fear they might be) prevent Russia from being first to use a nuke, but the Russkies figure the US might use one, and they are ready to respond.