It is. See Philip II of Macedon vs Athens. It's not true today because of how OP the US is in geography+natural resources, but also from alliances like NATO. W

It is. See Philip II of Macedon vs Athens. It's not true today because of how OP the US is in geography+natural resources, but also from alliances like NATO. Without NATO European states would be getting flipped one by one (as seen by what happens to states not in it). Rome also benefitted from her geography immensely. Same for the Swiss. Isolated democracies are really vulnerable to outside manipulation. Philip II was famous for buying off all the Athenian actors+politicians who love to hang out with his courtiers. The story of Demosthenes is a Cassandra-style tragedy. Federalism was a giant patch that massively increased the robustness of democracies/republics.