The Decline Of Empires In The 21st Century

As you can see, can rise in many different ways. The cause for an empire’s rise can be because of technology, a great leader,or the desire to become an empire. But empires can also fall. The cause for an empire to fall could be invaders, the loss of a leader, or a civil war. Empires rise and fall, but a good question is, if you know that you will eventually fall, then why

Chau’s thesis that the rise and fall of empires was due to tolerance, inclusion, difference, and diversity is shown to be true of the Roman Empire because of the way that tolerance allowed and caused the empire to rise, enter its golden age, and fall. The Roman Empire was a “hyperpower” that lasted from 44 BCE to 476 CE. The empire contained Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, along with North Africa; thus, there was an abundance of culture from many different conquered groups. Romans wanted to make these conquered nations provinces of Rome. The Roman Empire began (and the Roman Republic ended) with the assassination of Julius Caesar, who wanted to be a dictator. No longer a republic, the lands already ruled by Rome became part of an empire. The government became centralized with a single ruler, the emperor. However, even before the empire, during the Republic, there was also the similar feeling of wanting to conquer other nations was there.

Rome, one of the most enormous and powerful empires to ever exist also eventually crumbled. There are many beliefs to why this happened, such as the increasingly weak boundaries, lack of assurance on the emperor's, an increasingly horrible economics system, and a backlash on the new origin of Christianity to name a few. What was known as one of the biggest empires known to date also eventually came to it’s unfortunate end.

Colonized people across the globe were the ones responsible for their own destiny as they pushed for their independence from controlling empires. In the 1850’s to the 1900’s, there were many powerful countries, particularly in Europe, Asia and Africa that ruled through their colonial empires. This control was important as mother countries benefitted from their colony’s raw materials and labor. It didn’t take long for populations in these colonies to feel used as they started to realize that they had no control in the land where they lived. Groups started to develope, lead by the elite and upper class, looking for change.

The colonies were similar to each other in certain ways. They were all part of the British Empire at the time. They had to run in the mercantile system. The goal was to make more money for merchants and their government. They were linked together because they had to become partners. According to the Encyclopedia 2017, “It will examine what difference the end of formal empires in the mid-twentieth century made to the economic relations between metropolitan powers and former colonies.” According to usembassy 2017, “And while government involvement in the economy has been a consistent theme, the extent of that involvement generally has increased.”

Every important empire to ever conquer a part of the world started small. They were just simple villages with a population of maybe ten. Eventually, a leader or ruler comes along and sees that village as an opportunity, so he begins to work on it. Years later, this village that was once known as being miniscule and inferior has a strong military unit, a great emperor, and has taken over many other villages; it is now an empire. This, however, may not always mean that the village will stand forever. Every empire must fall back down in order for others to rise. The city of Rome is an example of an empire that fell drastically after reaching the height of its power. One major cause to Rome’s decline was the city’s overexpansion and military overspending.

From 600 BCE to 600 BC, many empires across the globe saw expansive and explosive growth. Many other empires collapsed during this time.What separated those that were on the way up and those on the way down was their ability to control their empires. While there are many examples of collapsing empires being unable to exert control of their territories, the examples center around 3 general reasons. These 3 reasons of collapse are economic, political and environmental.

The Western Roman Empire was marked by its vast territorial supremacy, as it conquering its neighbors to absorb their energy surpluses whether in agricultural outputs, mineral resources, or human capital. With the rapid growth of the Empire, the cost of maintaining order, production, and other logistical elements grew as well. This cost grew to the point there simply weren’t enough resources to defend against invasion especially when disgruntled peasants welcomed the removal of Roman control. The Maya empire failed due to the burdens of competitive warfare between the various city-states of the region. This was unsustainable especially given the population was already weakened by crop failure and drought. The Chaco Empire failed due to the communities coming to the conclusion that the costs paid to the central faction to be redistributed outweighed the benefits gained so they departed one after another. (Chippindale 1)

What happened to all of the great empires that we heard of? Why don't they exist any more? Three reasons why empires may have fallen are natural disasters, weak military, and internal rebellion. Many empires have fallen from these causes but here are three major empires that fell from them:

With all of the major empires had ended to it reign. The United States are coming close to the end of its power. But with many empires, most of the empires have fallen to invaders, and disease. With empires struggling to survive after anything can conquer their empire or destroy it. Three most problems that are facing the United States that could lead to its collapse as a world power are political corruption, welfare, and public health.

Every empire engages in subjugation and expansion. The current social decay in America and American decline lies within the historical nature of imperialism. The Roman Emperors who threw bread to the masses repeats itself in America, in which 46 million rely on food stamps and six corporations provide 90% propaganda news to a clueless and gullible public, with a 14% illiteracy rate.

Throughout history, civilizations have risen to and fallen from power. The accomplishments of these peoples are not important only because of their place in history, but they are also important because of the impact that they had on the world. Some of these groups of people were only able to create small, but still important settlements. Others were able to establish large empires that controlled vast areas and directly changed the lives of many who were under their rule. The Roman civilization was one of these massive empires that lasted for over a thousand years, and it has had a powerful influence on the world ever since. The impact of the Romans is not just the hegemony that they had over the people groups

1) What enabled Europeans to carve out huge empires an ocean away from their homelands?

“America was conducting business as usual, but others were joining the game.” (Zakaria, 221). All this time we thought we were on top, we were actually slowly becoming less and less of leader and more a bystander as the rest of the world is slowly rising around us. Zakaria shows in that quote that as America has been continuing business like always, and because of this we have failed to realize our standing with the world around us. In the book The Post-American World, Zakaria shows us the challenges that America faces today. I believe the United States is most affected by our ignorance, competition, and worldly participation.

The current international system is fragmenting rapidly since the end of the Cold War. A lot of regions in the world are still trying to find the balance of power in the international system, which the U.S. often intervenes to provide its brand of “global leadership”. Some countries like China are emerging as a global power since a few years ago. Subsequently, this will lead to a major threat to the U.S. status as a global major power. The rise of power by China in the international scene signifies the unpredictable nature of the international system. I would argue that the three most critical challenges for the U.S. arising out of this environment are the future world globalization that will cause a conflict between its domestic and foreign policy, the rise of China as a global power, and the ever globalization of terrorism. I believe that the U.S. should be pragmatic in handling its foreign policy and handle each situation independently without a fix doctrine in order to minimize the unintended consequences produced by the globalization of the world.