The New Clash of Civilizations: Neo-Imperialism of the 21 Century
The last century was the last century of Empires and Colonial rule that the great powers had over the world and many of the great powers became socialist and gave Independence to their overseas colonies and many of those countries became part of the European Union and the Soviet Union ceased to exist and broke up into 15 independent countries; The Baltic Republics, Central Asia and The Caucasus Region.
America was the only world power left in the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the only country left unchallenged for more than a decade until September 11, 2001 and that created a power vacuum and the United States was at war with Radical Islam and Al-Qaida and it caused Russia, China and Iran to start with their own form of imperialism in their own right and competing for influence and hegemony around the world and in within their political borders.
China: The Dragon of the East
The Chinese Empire is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and it was at one point one of the most advanced in the ancient world. Chinese culture, government, ethics, religion and language spread to East Asia particularly influencing Japan and Korea. China was the dominant power for more than 2,000 years and many countries had to pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor and be under the sphere of influence and the Chinese Empire remained unchallenged until the arrival of the Europeans who were interested in trade with the Chinese Emperor.
The Chinese saw the Europeans particularly the British with suspicion and they closed all trade with the Europeans and that led to war with the British over Opium and losing the port of Hong Kong to Britian. Little by little the great powers were taking over territories and demanding that China open its ports for settlement and trade causing the Chinese lose power and becoming weaken.
There was interval strife within the country with traditionalists wanting to stay the same with no reforms and with reformers that wanted to modernize and westernize the country. The failed revolution of the Boxer Rebellion eventually led to the eventual overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, following the Chinese Civil War and the Communist victory and the gradual liberalization and opening the country for economic and political reform.
The Chinese economy is the number one economy in the world after the United States and Japan and their currency the Yuan is the fifth most trade currency in the world and now the Chinese want to exercise their influence not only in trade but also in military and political might within its borders and they want to spread their own form of imperialism and influence in East Asia and the world and they are the world's largest military in the world per capita.
Russia: The Bear of Europe
Russia has been a country and a people that have been always proud and unpredictable in the way they behave and the way they are towards smaller countries and the surrounding countries it borders. Russia started as a small city state of Kievan Rus and adopting Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire and gradually over time expanding its territory from Moscow to Europe, The Caucasus Region, Central Asia and all the way to the Far East and parts of North America.
For centuries Russia was ruled by Czars that ruled as autocratic rulers over millions of peasants and was more concerned in extending its influence in Europe and the many parts of the world where their borders touched. Russia saw itself as a protecting power of the Orthodox Christians that lived in the Balkans and always had clashes with the Ottoman Empire over the treatment and occupation of Christian lands by Muslims.
Russia's entry into World War I bought the collapse of the Russian Empire and the Monarchy and the Czar was deposed and Russia became the world's first communist state in the world and became the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was the other superpower that was a challenge to the United States after the second world war and a threat to world peace and security because of the Soviets exporting of armed revolution throughout the world and the instability in the Soviet Union and the communist bloc.
When the Soviet Union disintegrated and ceased to exist and broke up into 15 independent countries there was a period of civil and economic chaos in Russia and the country had to deal with the high unemployment and political corruption with the privatization of the economic sector and moving away from a planned economy to a market economy.
Russia today under Vladmir Putin wants to resurrect the Russian Empire and wants to bring back Russians their glory and power that they once had under the Soviet Union but with a different approach using state sponsored fascism and the Russian Orthodox as the symbol of Russian Identity and pride and they want to go back into a imperialist power with the former Soviet Republics and with continental Europe at its door step with the control of natural gas and oil.
Iran: Persepolis Wants to Create a True Persian Gulf
Iran or Persia as it was once known back in ancient times was a world power that was a united power along with the ancient Medes and they overthrew and conquered the Babylon Empire and were very tolerant towards other religions and minorities in the countries they occupied. The Persians were eventually overthrown by the Greek Empire and the Persian empire came to an end.
During the advent of Islam invading Arab armies conquered most of the near east and Islamized the native populations they took over and Iran was conquered by the Arabs and they forcibly converted to Islam but they were able to maintain their Persian culture and language and not fully assimilating into Arab culture. After the schism between Sunni and Shia Islam, Shiites became dominant in Iran and have been the majority of the population since.
For most of their history Persians have been able to maintain complete Independence not only from the Arabs but also from European colonialism and the Ottoman Empire and during the 19th and early 20th centuries Persian Independence was recognized by Britain and Russia and Persia appointed a new Shah (King) that took steps to modernize and westernize the country and the name was changed to Iran.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution that deposed the pro-western government, Iran became a theocracy and established a regime that wants to control national life though oppression and enforcing strict Islamic law as interpreted by the Mullahs. Iran is a regional power in the Middle East that can challenge US and Israeli dominance in the region and because of different denomination of Islam the Arabs fear of Persian influence and power in regional affairs and Persian ambitions to make the Persian Gulf a truly Persian Gulf controlled by Persians not Arabs.
America: A Declining Power and a Divided Nation
For the last 100 years the United States of America was the world's largest democracy and the world's only true superpower after the second world war and the fall of the Soviet Union and the fall of Communism. America became a independent nation through armed revolution and its opposition to being taxed and controlled by the British crown.
The country formed from its humble beginnings of 13 original colonies to becoming the country it is today, the country expanded west by purchasing land from the French and taking over tribal lands from the Native Indians through wars and forceful take overs and unfair treaties. The importation of African Slaves and the civil war that broke between the North and South further caused more polarization of the country through race and religion and culture.
The 20th century proved to be a time to show that America can complete with the European Colonial powers by newly acquiring the remnants of the declining Spanish Empire, sending its soldiers throughout the region and securing its hegemony and having the other nations under its sphere of influence.
With American power and interests focused abroad in fighting the spread of communism within its borders the country was decaying and bleeding, the civil rights and nationalist movements among African Americans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and Women put America against itself and against its people. The US government has been more focus on being a superpower than to look after its people and that is causing for militia and far-right and right-wing groups to grow and people are separating themselves by race and by region and many people don't realize that each state is like its own autonomous entity with its own culture and politics.
In order for the United States to save itself from economic and political collapse like Soviet Union, the country needs to reexamine itself and make reforms and fix the infrastructure and the system which has been abandoned for decades and to make amends and reparations to its minorities and deal with its racist past and put an end to fascism segments within the government and in many parts of the country and to combat home grown and domestic terrorists and to make sure everyone has access to opportunities or else there will be civil war and it will be the last.
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