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They were dominated by Rome out of fear of reprisal, but held no love for the Roman state. The Social War is just the boiling point of centuries of simmering grievances.
True, but even when Rome was at its weakest point against Hannibal the bulk of its allies remained loyal even though it was routine for cities in Sicily to switch sides depending on which appeared the stronger currently. Obviously fear of Roman reprisal played a part, but cities that went over the Hannibal usually only went over upon the approach of his army, so the fear works both ways.