Rogue Hegemon

The United States of 2025 stands at a perilous crossroads, having pivoted from a global stabilizer to what many international observers now openly describe as a rogue bully nation. The last two years have witnessed an unprecedented acceleration of militarism, spanning from the Biden administration’s ironclad support for the devastation in Gaza to the Trump administration’s Total Embargo and kinetic strikes against Venezuela. By prioritizing resource extraction and geopolitical dominance over international law, the U.S. has not only destabilized the globe but has effectively set fire to its own moral and diplomatic credibility.

The return of the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine has turned Latin America into a frontline. In late 2025, the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group to the Caribbean and the authorization of kinetic strikes against Venezuelan vessels—resulting in over 100 casualties—mark a shift from economic pressure to active confrontation. Critics argue this is not about narco-terrorism, but a blatant attempt at regime change to secure regional hegemony and control over energy resources. This aggressive posture has alienated regional partners, with leaders like Brazil’s Lula da Vinci warning of a Vietnam-style quagmire that threatens the sovereignty of the entire hemisphere.

While the U.S. continues to sponsor what a majority of global observers and many domestic voters call a genocide in Palestine, its military footprint has expanded across the Middle East.

• Yemen and the Red Sea: Operation Poseidon Archer and Rough Rider have seen hundreds of U.S. strikes on Yemeni soil, resulting in significant civilian and combatant casualties.
• The "Midnight Hammer" in Iran: Strategic strikes on Iranian-linked infrastructure in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon have brought the region to the brink of a multi-state war, all while the U.S. continues to ignore UN calls for de-escalation.
• The Sovereign Violation: By maintaining troop presence in Syria and Iraq against the explicit wishes of local governments and utilizing extrajudicial drone strikes, the U.S. has signaled that national borders are irrelevant when they conflict with Washington’s interests.

Perhaps the most preposterous development of 2025 is the U.S. offensive against the International Criminal Court (ICC). Following Executive Order 14203, the Trump administration has sanctioned ICC judges and Prosecutor Karim Khan for investigating alleged war crimes by U.S. and Israeli officials. This reversal of roles—where the judges are treated as criminals and the suspects are shielded—has turned the U.S. into a pariah in the eyes of the 125 states party to the Rome Statute. It is a declaration that the U.S. considers itself above the law, effectively making the rules-based order a hollow mockery.

The U.S. is not being destroyed by external enemies, but by a foreign policy that consumes its own resources and reputation. By acting as a global bully—stealing resources, threatening the world’s highest courts, and waging war on every non-compliant nation—the United States has triggered a global mutiny against its leadership. As the dollar weakens and alliances fray, the American Century is ending not with a whimper, but with the sound of its own falling bombs.