What most people in the West do not understand is that the idea of "empire" is no longer simply a physical force, but a mental one. By sophisticated manipulation of how people think, the oligarchy running western nations is committed to maintaining domination of the world by an interconnected corporate aristocracy, through a "Rules-Based Order", backed by the physical force of the U.S. and NATO. A central belief of that oligarchy is its arrogant view that its members are innately superior, and of the need for Malthusian depopulation, to rid the world of "useless eaters".
For Lyndon LaRouche's analysis of this, here is a link to his 2007 presentation, "Save the American Republic from the British Empire."
For how the world is being divided today, here is a link to Harley Schlanger's article on the origins of the Summit for Democracy.