EQ1

Question 1

super power

Answer 1

a country with a dominating power and influence. It means that this country influences different parts of the world beyond their own borders

Question 2

hegemon

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

emerging power

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

regional powers

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

economic superpowers

Answer 5

-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.

Question 6

fdi+tncs

Answer 6

-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

Question 7

Superpowers - Size and Geographical Position

british empire

Answer 7

-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

Question 8

neocolonism

Answer 8

-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

Question 9

Mackinder heartland theory

Answer 9

-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

Question 10

Superpowers - Size and Geographical Position

russia

Answer 10

-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.

Question 11

Superpowers - Size and Geographical Position

USA

Answer 11

-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

Question 12

political power

trade blocs+igos

Answer 12

-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

Question 13

political power

G20

Answer 13

-the club of 20 largest economies in world
-its become more significant as emerging countries have grown
-the members now represnt half worlds population

Question 14

military power

nuclear power

Answer 14

-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.

Question 15

cultural influence

tncs

Answer 15

-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.

Question 16

Demographic Characteristics

china- large population

Answer 16

-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)

Question 17

Demographic Characteristics

singapore-small population

Answer 17

-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

Question 18

Access to Natural Resources

the uk

Answer 18

-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.

Question 19

Access to Natural Resources

usa

Answer 19

-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.

Question 20

access to natural resources

africa

Answer 20

-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.

Question 21

patterns of power

unipolar world

Answer 21

-only 1 dominant power, eg british empire
-could lead to challenges from nations who dont accept hegemony of solepower

Question 22

patterns of power

bipolar

Answer 22

-2 opposing superpowers. eg coldwar -usa+russia
-This predominantly involved a clash of cultures between capitalism and communism political ideologies.

Question 23

cold war

Answer 23

-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

Question 24

patterns of power

multipolar world

Answer 24

-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

Question 25

patterns of power

colonial era

Answer 25

-during this it was a multi polar world: france, netherlands, britain, spain, portugal. it went till 1939
-british believed it was right to colonise these regions as it gave them land power: resources+raw materials
-britain exerted hard power. in 1919, at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, around 380 Indian protesters were killed by British forces.
-colonial power was maintained w hard power

Question 26

soft power

examples

Answer 26

-2019, department of education meeting in uk discussed importance of it in uk unis
-1857, Hotta Masayoshi, a Japanese minister wrote that Japan should
‘conduct trade, and copy foreigners…to foster strength and gradually subject the foreigners to our influence until our hegemony is acknowledged throughout the globe’.

Question 27

soft power

Answer 27

-country expresses influence via its economic, political, moral or cultural influence. it doesnt physically enforce anything in anither country
-eg in america its cultural exports from global media tncs. in 2017, france topped soft power ranking of 1 particular organisation. bc of the popularity of its president who supports eu, frances membership to many igos+frances rich culture
-globalisation seems to be making soft power more important

Question 28

hard power

Answer 28

-country expresses its influence through coercive measures- eg economic sanctions or military force or threat.
its becoming less common.
Countries are beginning to use economic sanctions instead of military force.
eg, the UK and USA imposed sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program rather than using force.
now, China performs better in terms of its military size (sign of potential hard power) than it does in measures of soft power. This could change over time and Chinese funding for African infrastructure seems to be an attempt to shift this.