Since declaring independence on July 4th, 1776, the United States has been involved in wars for all but roughly 20 of its 246 years as a nation. In May 2021, the China Society for Human Rights Studies estimated that of the 248 armed conflicts that have occurred globally between the end of the second world war and 9/11, 201 of them, or about 80 percent, were initiated by the U.S.

The absence of wars and external stimulants help to demotivate the U.S. from integrating political and economic systems, draining the momentum of sustained national development.