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Since when did the USA count as an empire?

https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/American_imperialism

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/American_Empire

https://warontherocks.com/2015/08/is-america-an-empire/

There's lots of things pointing towards USA being considered an empire. It is of course open to debate.

So is the claim that countries like the KSA are American vassals rather than its allies? I mean, as I understand it, an empire consists of multiple countries.

America does consist of multiple countries. Please consider that the United States acquired most of it’s territory at the expense of Native Americans¹ which are officially “domestic dependent nations”².

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_sovereignty_in_the_Unit...

Then by that definition most countries in the top twenty for size can be considered empires.

Only if you use a very generous definition of it ...

For me empire is a country that can easily project their ideology, political/economic will and military streanght outside of its boarders. And does it. For example selling cheap clothes or taxing tea and when people disagree they find their face on the reciving end of a rifle butt.

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