EQ1 Flashcards
super power
a country with a dominating power and influence. It means that this country influences different parts of the world beyond their own borders
hegemon
supreme power or a country that is dominant over others. Their power extends to several different countries.
The USA is the only country that can currently claim to be a hegemon.
emerging power
a country that has increasing influence but is not yet dominant.
We can refer to the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as emerging powers.
regional powers
A country that exerts influence over other countries in the immediate area of the same region.
China + India are regional powers in Asia + currently developing to become (possible) superpowers.
economic superpowers
-trade blocks +alliances
-us is wordls largest economy w gdp of $20trillion
-china is 2nd w $14trillion
-japan is 3rd
-worlds 10 largest economies earn 65% of global gdp +also spend the most
- world’s five largest consumer markets are the USA, China, Japan, Germany and the UK.
fdi+tncs
-wordls largest economies control investment
-most fdi is directed towards these countries bc a tnc is likely to make more profit bc consumer market is so large
-biggest compamnies r from china+usa: Apple,microsoft,amazon+google
Superpowers - Size and Geographical Position
british empire
-gained superpower statues w/out phsyical size
-it exerted global influence despite being small island but empire included large territories like india + lots of strategic locations
-initial phase:1600s to 1800s
-second phase: 19th century
-in 1945 it included india, mauritius + nigeria
neocolonism
-using economic imperalism, globalisation , cultural imperalism +conditonal aid to influence a country
-us provided inward investment to countries like japan,singapore+phillipines to promote economic growth +stop spread of communism
Mackinder heartland theory
-whoever controls Europe and Asia, the largest land masses, will gain control over the world.
-he believed that the ‘heartland’ extended from Eastern Europe into Russia with there being a ‘pivot’ in the centre.
-whoever controlled the heartland would control landmasses of europe+russia+ control world
-russia should be the global superpower bc it has most strategic location
-uk could dominate using sea power
-global pivot chand in 21st century to china+this where global economic centre was pre-1800
-chinas a emerging+regional power that can challenge usas hegemony
Superpowers - Size and Geographical Position
russia
-size key part of its status
-worlds largest country+ controls significant resources
-also important w arctic region-climate change make it possible yo exploit previsouly untapped natural resources
-Arctic is mainly under Russian & Canadian control.
-The state-controlled oil company Rosneft has spent $1.74 billion in Arctic exploration since 2012 and will invest another $4.35 billion between 2017-2021.
-Russia contains 11% of the world’s landmass, and has 145 million inhabitants.
Superpowers - Size and Geographical Position
USA
-v large +3rd largest country in world by area
-very rich in natural resources (steel+oil)
-large country+popualtion size means us companies have v large domestic market
-can sell to lots of consumers + benefit tncs from economies of scale
political power
trade blocs+igos
-With the rise of globalisation, it is rare for a country to hold much influence on their own.
-much more common for countries to exert power through their membership of trade blocs or IGOs.
-eg of these organisations that have global influence are the EU, OECD and the G20
political power
G20
-the club of 20 largest economies in world
-its become more significant as emerging countries have grown
-the members now represnt half worlds population
military power
nuclear power
-any war involving 2 countries w nuclear weapons would cause ‘mutually assured destruction
-A nuclear power fighting a non-nuclear power would be likely to win instantly if they wanted to.
-Countries with nuclear weapons are the USA, Britain, Russia, France, China, India, Israel, Pakistan and potentially North Korea.
cultural influence
tncs
-eg disney promotes global culture w american traits thru tv + film
-Film studios like MGM make films like ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ spreading US culture globally.
-Netflix is also spreading US culture internationally.
-Global media TNCs influence global culture by deciding which films people watch.
Demographic Characteristics
china- large population
-used its 1.4billion population to become the ‘work shop of the world’. able to provide tncs w low labour costs + use this to grow its manufacturing sector
-as it becomes more wealthy it population is now offering tncs large consumer market+ so increase growth
-usa is another example (326million ppl in 2017)
Demographic Characteristics
singapore-small population
-risen to super/emergingpowers w/out large population
-eg singapore. its a regional power w major influence in south asia but only has population of 5.6million
Access to Natural Resources
the uk
-For example, the UK’s supply of coal was key to kick-starting the industrial revolution.
-However, simply having resources do not mean economic development.
Access to Natural Resources
usa
-v rich in iron +steel, so very important in development in late 1800s
-John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil was so powerful from 1870-1911 that it had to be broken up.
-Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company had a huge amount of power in the steel industry.
access to natural resources
africa
-However, much of Africa has huge resource reserves but these have caused conflict + hindered development further.
-Corruption can mean that the gains do not accrue to the country.
-TNCs can manage many natural resource reserves and countries may not receive many benefits: In Nigeria, Shell and BP have developed many Nigerian oil fields.
-Dutch disease can lead to currency appreciation because of the export of resources like oil. This can stop a nation exporting any other goods and services.
patterns of power
unipolar world
-only 1 dominant power, eg british empire
-could lead to challenges from nations who dont accept hegemony of solepower
patterns of power
bipolar
-2 opposing superpowers. eg coldwar -usa+russia
-This predominantly involved a clash of cultures between capitalism and communism political ideologies.
cold war
-both had nuclear weapons+large militaries
-ussr had large influence in east europe
-due to it 2 alliences formed:
1. support of ussr formed warsaw pact + council for mutual economic assistance
1. supporting usa formed NATO
-war fought via propoganda+messages
-in us propaganda centred around ensuirng communists were viewed as suspicious+untrustworthy
-McCarthyism =name given to the act of accusing ppl of being communist sympathisers + traitors without much evidence.happened in the USA in the 1950s.
-end of it: usa been sole super power. enabled it to become hegemon. hasnt been rivalled however china looks a threat to usa in terms of power
patterns of power
multipolar world
-3+ superpowers, a phenomenon that has been evolving since 2010 with the rise of the EU, China and USA.
-1910-1945 was this: could argue it led to 2 world wars
