All great empires have eventually collapsed. From the Roman, Arab, and Ottoman Empires to the French, Dutch, and British Empires, all leading powers have experienced periods of rise, peak, and eventual decline, ultimately being replaced by the next rising power. What leads to the decline of an empire? This is a question researchers have long sought to understand. By zooming out and analyzing the rise and fall of numerous empires throughout history, consistent and revealing patterns emerge – patterns that we may be seeing unfold right before our eyes today. This paper aims to explore whether we are witnessing the decline of the American empire by examining the rise and fall of past empires.

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