Imperialism, economic power, and foreign policy

Foreign policy, in its shortest, simplest, and most basic definition, is the management of every type of relationship entered into with other countries. Foreign policy is a high-cost endeavor. It requires high levels of knowledge, skill, experience, and leadership. This is because the price of failure is heavy, in every respect. A country's reputation, influence, deterrence, human resources, finances, and borders are all directly affected by the success or failure of its foreign policy. 

The Costs of War project at Brown University in the US (for reference, see https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/overview) determined in its research that US attacks and occupations following September 11 have imposed an economic burden of 8 trillion dollars and led to the death of more than 4.5 million people, either directly or indirectly. The report also noted that, in addition to the financial burden of the attacks and occupations, they displaced millions of people and increased global environmental pollution. 

To understand the decline in the hegemony capability and ecological dominance of US imperialism today, one must first understand the burden on the US economy. This is because the US is no longer a country that produces more than half of the world's total output, as it was after World War II. Its share in total production is around 20 percent. The social, class, and cultural fault lines in the country are deep; the gap between rich and poor is profound. The total debt of the public sector, private companies, and households has approached 200 trillion dollars. The total debt of the federal government has exceeded 40 trillion dollars (see: https://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html).

WHAT DOES THE US CARE ABOUT WHEN LENDING MONEY?

As of June 2026 data, the top 3 countries that lend the most to the US are: Japan (1 trillion 117 billion dollars), the United Kingdom (940 billion dollars), and China (633 billion dollars). The country to which the US provides the most economic and military aid in the Middle East is Israel. It is followed by Egypt. Ukraine has also received significant economic and military aid, funds, and loans from the US. It should also be remembered that the US lends money to its allies, including Ukraine, so that they can purchase US products, weapons, and aircraft. The US is the determining factor in how the debt is used. Moreover, it has been doing this for years. During World War II, it lent large amounts of money to its allies. For example, the UK only paid off this debt in 2006. And the UK, along with Israel, is one of the two strategic allies of the US. Rather than lending directly to countries experiencing economic crises, the US provides loans through the IMF and the World Bank. When lending, the US considers its strategic and geopolitical priorities alongside its economic priorities. 

As an imperialist power, the US is interested in the entire world. It strives to be effective and influential on a global scale. Just as the US's own power has declined, its allies, especially the Europeans, no longer possess their former strength. The European Union, an imperialist project, is not an actor on a global scale. There is no such harmony or accord in the European Union. There is no such goal either. Furthermore, the European Union lacks the power, will, and courage for this. Germany, the leader of the European Union, is trying to be effective in its immediate vicinity—the Balkans, the Baltics, the Black Sea, and the Caucasus—and that is all. How successful it is in this is open to debate. Moreover, there is no country in the world that wants or expects the European Union to come to the fore, take initiative, or be effective in distant geographies on a global scale.

METHODS OF IMPERIALISM

While pondering the relationship between imperialism and foreign policy, it should not be forgotten that the tools and methods used by imperialism have changed. For example, in the 19th century, imperialism resorted to cruder, more savage, and more barbaric methods. Subsequently, while still resorting to military methods and brute force, it began to deploy and use economic-financial tools, cultural hegemony, and sophisticated management tools and methods in a more systematic manner. 

One of the lessons of history is this: every empire or great state that grows too much, expands too much, and spreads too far also accelerates its own end. This situation is natural. It is inevitable. This applies to the Roman Empire as well as the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over vast lands stretching from the Caucasus to the gates of Vienna, and from the Arabian Peninsula to North Africa. This is because governing and ruling become difficult. Because the financial burden increases. Because the bureaucracy becomes cumbersome. Because centrifugal tendencies come to the fore, competition between local powers far from the center intensifies, and tensions between power centers in the provinces increase. Because difficulties arise in implementing necessary administrative and military reforms and taking the required steps. 

In summary, when the situation of the US is evaluated in light of this iron law of history, the decline in US power is understood more clearly.