[elefanten]

This is a great explanation of decades of work in conflict studies, IR and political science. This viewpoint seems almost unnaturally misunderstood on HN. The presumptive view of American military power around here seems to be some variant of these "empire" claims, with a logic that implies US hegemony is no better than any other state of the world.

In the present political climate (especially among highly-educated segments and subcultures of society), it's common to be met with derision when suggesting the American "empire" has been incredibly restrained and self-effacing compared to virtually any empire in world history. But no, it's cool to just cite Chomsky's latest rhetoric and declare America as bad as the worst of them.

I predict a lot of rude awakenings will occur if China manages to achieve primacy, and Europe will have an especially hard landing.