[cjblomqvist]

The UK (empire) didn't go down in a big war (although they fought in several, that also threatened them). It seems wars are definitely not needed for the transition to a nation rather then empire.

I'd say wars have historically been a part of all nations/geographical areas more or less continuously - and empires are more inclined to participate due to 1) being bigger and 2) thinking there's more to gain from those wars (usually due to capability/likelihood of winning).

[mrtksn]

Maybe being an island helps, maybe the WW1, WW2 and other conflicts were the process of downfall of the British empire I'm not too sure about it but after centuries of global European dominance Europe(including UK and the Turks) ended up transforming into something completely different than their glory days and its alright.

Similarly, maybe the conflicts US was involved last 30+ were the wars that broke the empire?

Personally, I'm looking forward to a world where our planet belongs to all of us and we are not limited by borders and not dying for the careers of politicians. IMHO the technology has advanced enough and the resource scarcity and most issues are artificial.