There is a noticeable difference to America’s aggressiveness since Putin placed his Manchurian candidate in the White House. While the US has certainly acted in an imperialistic fashion in the recent past, it was nowhere near as blunt, callous and, for lack of a better word, “Russian-style”.

America hegemony was built predominantly on the basis of soft power instead of occupying territory long-term. Coca Cola, Levi’s jeans and rock and roll, combined with skillful diplomacy, consistent foreign policy between Republican- and Democratic-led administrations and a backing of unparalleled hard power projection capabilities was a winning combination in the second half of the 20th century.

Threatening to annex the territory of close allies in particular would have been unthinkable at any previous point in American history, even when they were fighting Colonial wars (e.g. in the Philippines) or during the most coke-fueled periods of the Cold War, when the CIA seemingly enjoyed a carte blanche, especially in Central and South America.