TheU.S, hegemony v. Europe and Japan

In terms of history, the United States is quite distinct from Europe and Japan from the following points. Since the earliest days of the colonial era, America has been pursuing ever lasting expansion. Its sphere of influence has expanded from the Wild West to Europe and Asia. After the Cold War, American influence spread furthermore to Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. On the other hand, Europeans and Japanese have experienced rapid shrinkage of their spheres after World War Ⅱ. Europeans withdrew from their colonial empires, and Japanese threw away the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere.

In addition, Americans genuinely believe in universality of their national foundation ideals. Therefore, Americans are confident in their missionary spirit, while Europeans and Japanese are self critical to their behavior in the past. Neither Vietnam nor Iraq can erode this self-confidence.

Global American Discourse
グローバル・アメリカン政論

It is an interesting read.