Britain may have succeeded in spite of itself, since after its former colonies separated (due to some level of mistreatment), these colonies still loved the mother country enough (especially the US and Canada) to save its butt in World Wars I and II (France enjoys a similar, though lesser, status). In the WW II Pacific Theater, this was especially true as the former British Colonies were almost overrun by Japanese prior to US intervention. Speaking as the product of a British family with 400 years of American stationing, I can appreciate that despite British mistakes, their enhanced traditions of Democracy, Capitalism, and good government give the world hope. Additionally, the UK-US led military alliance gives them an incredible geographic presence, with an ability to project military power all over the world. We'll see how this plays out in Taiwan and other places, which is shaping up to be a WW II Pacific Theater redux. I suppose India and S Africa would be the exceptions to the "former British colonies that love mother England" rule, as they both seem to be leaning towards Russia-China as of late.