"Sub-Imperial Power: Australia in the International Arena" by Clinton Fernandes, a Professor of International and Political Studies at the University of New South Wales, is an excellent book on this subject.
While the book is ostensibly about Australia, this framing of sub-imperial powers being strictly subordinate to America's "rules-based international order" (read, empire) applies to practically all of its "allies". Sub-imperial powers have their sovereignty as long as they remain within the confines of America's interests.
The genius of America's empire when compared to other historic examples like the British or French is this delusion of equality and sovereignty that its subjects believe, or consciously fail to recognize, as it is in the interests of their ruling classes to do so. Under the British, you were literally a
dominion; under the Americans, you have seat at the UN. Brilliant. If I had to pinpoint the moment in history when the British and French empires fell, it would be the 1956 Suez Crisis. When the U.S. said stop, they did exactly that—hence, being relegated to mere sub-imperial powers under America's rules-based order.
International trade, financial institutions, defence, even history, popular culture and collective memory are so thoroughly warped in favor of the U.S., that it is arguably pointless to stand against them. None of their subordinates do. The current Turkish administration pretends it does, but doesn't really—not when it begins to hurt their coffers.
The Soviets were perhaps their peer at some point during the cold war, but being more ideologically driven, they inevitably fell. And when they did, those individuals who championed and welcomed the rules-based order packaged, sold and pillaged everything the fledgling federation had. Establishing democracy was never the intention. Those that did the pillaging eventually became the oligarchs* who are simply a less refined version of the reality of America's order: Greed.
A maddening example of the limitations of this rules-based order: the
American Service-Members' Protection Act. This law literally gives the U.S. the power to, if necessary, invade the Netherlands if a U.S. Service Member were to be tried at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Russia: fair game. Israel: absolutely not. What a farce!
I'm not some radical leftist. I don't want to see the current world order fall. Not because I'm happy with it, but rather because I've been conditioned to fear what comes next. What I am, though, is a person woefully aware that the majority of the world, including U.S. citizens, live under an empire that is deceptively comfortable—at least for us lucky few in the upper tiers of Maslow's hierarchy—yet deeply unjust, dehumanizing and destructive. I am also aware that most are powerless to change, let alone stop it.
*
"Tut-tut! Let's call them that. They aren't sharing the money with us anymore!" — the State Department