The American empire, that colossus of the modern age, is not what it once was. Its hegemony is now fraying at the edges, and its vassals must confront an uncomfortable truth. The incoming administration, with a more pragmatic and unflinching view of America’s decline, is taking steps to draw lines around its sphere of influence.

The US does not have allies who are equal partners and decision makers. It uses vassals, bound to the American sphere by a web of feudal obligations, elite integration, and geopolitical utility. Some provide military bases; others, economic leverage. Some serve as ideological outposts; others, as buffers against rival powers. But all exist within the gravitational pull of the American empire, their orbits determined by the whims and needs of their overlord. And now, as the empire seeks to shore up its position, it is only logical that it would demand more from its subjects. Satellite nations will be expected to increase NATO budgets, suffer tariffs, and even make territorial concessions.

The moment of reckoning has arrived, and countries who have become dependent on the US must now face the reality that their security, prosperity, and very identities have been contingent on the strength and benevolence of the hegemon. They must now decide how to navigate the new reality they find themselves in. Broadly speaking, there are three paths that are available. The vassals can seek protection outside the American sphere, deepen their integration and make themselves useful to the empire, or simply endure the increasing demands with resigned acceptance. Each path carries its own risks and rewards, but none offers the comfort of the status quo.

For example, Denmark has become a quintessential vassal state, its military stripped bare, and its foreign policy subsumed into the broader aims of the US. It sent its soldiers to fight in distant wars, not for its own interests, but as a gesture of fealty to its overlord. And what has it gained in return? The privilege of not being punished themselves. But as the empire tightens its grip on the remaining assets, Denmark, and nations like it, must confront their own impotence. They cannot defend themselves. They cannot seek help from their peers who are equally feeble. And so, they will likely endure the demands placed upon them because they have grown accustomed to their subservient role.

What the vassals are still struggling to understand is that the US owes them nothing. The notion that these nations deserve better treatment is a quaint relic of a bygone era. The world is not a place of fairness or justice; it is a place of power and necessity. Those who complain about their rising obligations are missing the point. The reward for their loyalty is not prosperity or autonomy, but the absence of punishment. This is the cold truth of empire.

The global order of American unipolarity where the world was policed by a single superpower is gone. It is not coming back. The mirage of a post-historical utopia, where conflicts are minor and challenges are manageable, has evaporated. The rules-based order that the western nations hid behind has been revealed as a fragile construct, dependent on the strength and will of its enforcer. As that enforcer weakens, all the dependents must now confront their own vulnerability.

It’s not a pleasant realization. It is not easy to admit that one’s existence has been a coddled theme park, dependent on the relative position of a distant power. But it is a necessary to start making hard decisions about the future. The nations in the US sphere of influence must reckon with their own geopolitical impotence and choose between embracing their dependency with open eyes or seeking pathways to autonomy. The latter path will require risk, sacrifice, and a fundamental recalibration of national priorities. But it may be the only way to reclaim a measure of historical agency.

The era of coasting on borrowed security and ideological rhetoric is over. The vassals must now confront the reality of their situation, not as passive recipients of American largesse, but as active participants in a changing world. They must decide whether to cling to the fading light of the empire or to seek new opportunities. For some, the choice may be clear. For others, it may be agonizing. But one thing is certain, there is no going back to the world the way it was before 2022. Countries will either rise to the occasion or fade into irrelevance. In the grand scheme of things, empires rise and fall. But the choices made in the twilight of the empire will shape the world for decades to come.