World Wars destroy empires. Every single time.

WW1 wiped out 4 major powers in under 6 years:

→ Russian Empire (1917) - Tsar out, Bolsheviks in
→ German Empire (1918) - Kaiser gone, colonies stripped
→ Austro-Hungarian Empire (1918) - shattered into 6+ states
→ Ottoman Empire (1922) - carved up, Turkey born from the ashes

Britain and France? They actually peaked after WW1 by grabbing the scraps.

Then WW2 finished the job:

→ Japan - lost everything outside home islands
→ Italy - colonies gone, became a republic
→ Nazi Germany - erased and split in two
→ British Empire - India 1947, Africa through the 60s
→ French Empire - Vietnam 54, Algeria 62, bloody exits
→ Dutch Empire - Indonesia 1949
→ Belgian Empire - Congo 1960
→ Portuguese Empire - held until 1974, last to fall

Pattern is crystal clear: global conflict accelerates imperial collapse. The hegemon never survives intact.

Now ask yourself - what happens to the current empire if we get WW3?