Empires can impose order and stability for a long time; but imperialists – rather like many Americans today – become tired, and their subjects grow restless. The imperial order becomes brittle, and, as Kagan rightly notes, when the old order finally breaks down, mayhem often follows.
帝国可以在相当长的时间内带来秩序与稳定；但帝国主义者——就像很多今天的美国人——开始变得厌倦，他们的殖民地则越来越躁动。帝国秩序变得十分脆弱，而卡甘也正确地指出，旧秩序最终会被打破，随之而来的往往是蓄意破坏。