Hegemons Fail When They Command

The author argues hegemonic empires function best when client states anticipate and comply without being told. The Iraq War forced the U.S. to issue visible demands and expose imperial power, breeding resentment and noncompliance that accelerated a shift toward multipolarity. — It reframes post-2003 U.S. decline as a soft-power failure mode: coercion signals weakness and hastens the unraveling of hegemonic systems.