Good article. As you indicate, pacifism taken too far leads to Holocaust. The flipside of that is that every aggressive war since the Holocaust has been justified by ranting about "appeasement". True pacifism is to speak softly and carry a big stick. By that measure, NATO is largely a successful exercise in armed pacifism, with the odd adventure to spoil the record.

I just heard this week that my Wife and I have been approved for Swiss citizenship, so the example of Switzerland is currently apposite. F-18s occasionally gambol over our valley, and there is a military school within earshot where artillery exercises and other games are regularly played, so we are very aware of the notion of armed neutrality. (The regular volleys of machine-gun fire may have something to do with asylum-seekers, but I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt.) It works. So I have a bit of a dilemma in re the state blocking re-sale of arms to Ukraine. But I get the reasons.

I would quibble regarding America. The USA is most definitely an Empire, in my opinion, and many US intellectuals concur. (I think it nice of them to keep up with my posts.) The British Empire also acquired a great deal of its territories by private enterprise and control of trade. Say no more.