EQ1 (from guide)- what are superpowers and how have they changed over time

Question 1

how would you define an emerging power?

Answer 1

a country who’s power is increasing; they usually have some strengths but also some weaknesses in areas in comparison to superpowers

Question 2

what is geopolitical?

Answer 2

refers to the influence of geographical factors (economy, population size, military strength) on the actions of countries towards others: their foreign policy, agreement and alliances and conflicts.

Question 3

describe the geopolitical hierarchy

Answer 3

(pyramid)
bottom- regional power (leads on continental but not on global scale e.g Japan, Mexico, Nigeria)
emerging power- (globally influential but only in certain areas of influence e.g China, Russia, Brazil and India)
Superpowers- (globally dominant, but more than one can exist at once e.g EU)
top- hyper-power (complete global dominance, no rivals e.g USA)

Question 4

define superpower

Answer 4

a country that can project its power and ideas globally, and influence other countries using its economic, political, military and cultural strength

Question 5

how is the EU a superpower

Answer 5

• made up of 28 countries
• second largest economy after the USA
• members often disagree which is a weakness
• EU could be further weakened when the UK leaves in 2019-2020 following the 2016 referendum vote

Question 6

what are the 6 different sources of power

Answer 6

economic- large total GDP gives countries a wealth needed to be a global player
political- leading rather than following in global organisations like UN, IMF and WTO
military- nuclear weapons etc are required to threaten other countries will on another
cultural- having ideas, art, music, food and fashion that other people find appealing is a source of power
demographic- power requires people to support a large economy and the military
natural resources- fossil fuels, land farming, minerals, wealth and water resources increase self-sufficiency.

Question 7

what is hard power

Answer 7

using military and economic influence (trade deals/sanctions) to force another country to act in a particular way

Question 8

what is soft power

Answer 8

a more subtle persuasion of countries to act in a particular way, on the basis that the persuader is respected and appealing. Includes political persuasion (diplomacy) and cultural influence

Question 9

what is a sanction?

Answer 9

penalties applied by ones country (or international organisations such as the UN) to another, such as refusal to trade with them, refusing foreign travel or banning them from taking part in international sport.

Question 10

what is meant by ‘smart power’

Answer 10

the combination of threat and persuasion through the use of soft and hard power

Question 11

what is the USA’s total GDP, population, nuclear warheads and percentage of worlds TNC’s?

Answer 11

GDP: $ 18.5 trillion
population: 330 million
active nuclear warheads: 1790
percentage of worlds TNC’s: 27

Question 12

what is China’s total GDP, population, nuclear warheads and percentage of worlds TNC’s?

Answer 12

GDP: $ 11.4 trillion
population: 1.38 billion
active nuclear warheads: 440
percentage of worlds TNC’s: 13

Question 13

what are some strengths and weaknesses of soft and hard power?

Answer 13

• hard power can get results but is expensive and risky
• others may view military action as unnecessary or illegal, so the aggressor may lose allies and moral authority
• soft power relies on a country having respected culture, values and politics which may be enough to persuade some countries but not others
• soft power, applied well, is low cost and as it is based on building alliances and friendly relations, may spread to other countries.

Question 14

what is meant by geo-strategic?

Answer 14

refers to the policies of a country in terms of securing the resources it needs, both within its territory, nearby and globally

Question 15

what is the heartland theory?

Answer 15

a geopolitical concept that analyzes the political and economic success of the world’s regions by geography.

Question 16

how was the heartland theory influential?

Answer 16

-reinforced the idea that control of physical resources (land and mineral wealth) was important.

Question 17

what is imperial power?

Answer 17

The extension of a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.

Question 18

what is an empire?

Answer 18

a group of territories and their peoples ruled over by one country, usually taken by conquest. The conquered territories are usually called colonies

Question 19

what does the development of an empire rely on?

Answer 19

• powerful navies transport soldiers and equipment to areas of potential conquest
• businesses exploit resources in the conquered territory
• fleet of merchant ships protected by navy, transport goods back to the home country
• people from the home countries act as the gov. and civil service to run the colonies

Question 20

what was the imperial era?

Answer 20

1500-1950

Question 21

when did empires end?

Answer 21

1950-1970

Question 22

what are some indirect mechanisms of power?

Answer 22

political- dominance in international decision making (with UN, G7, World trade organisation etc)
military- threat of large, powerful armed forces with global reach
economic- use of trade deals and trade blocs to create economic alliances that create interdependence
cultural- use of global media, arts, culture and global brands spread the ideology and values of a country through consumer culture

Question 23

define ideology

Answer 23

a set of beliefs, ideas and values held by most people in society.
in western cultures this is one of democracy, capitalism and freedom

Question 24

when was the cold war

Answer 24

between 1945 and 1990

tense period dominated by the USA and USSR

Question 25

what indirect mechanisms of control does neo-colonialism include?

Answer 25

• a debt-aid relationship: developing countries owe money for past loans to developing countries
• poor terms of trade: developing countries export low value commodities but import expensive manufacturing goods from developed countries
• loss of the brightest and most productive people tend to migrate to developed countries

Question 26

how are patterns of power characterised by

Answer 26

• uni-polar: one globally dominant superpower, or hyper power
• bi-polar: two opposing superpowers, with different ideologies, but broadly equal in status
• multi-polar: many broadly equal powers, with regional influence

Question 27

define hegemon/ hegemony power

Answer 27

a superpower that has mastery over all others. This includes cultural terms, as well as economic and military terms

Question 28

describe the timeline of changing polarity

Answer 28

1800-1919: British Empire - Uni-polar
1919-1939: Inter-war period - Multi-polar
1945-1990: Cold war (USA USSR) - Bi-polar
1990-2030: USA globalisation era - Uni-polar

Question 29

why is China the most likely rival to the USA’s current hegemony

Answer 29

• has huge human resources
• its economy has grown massively since 1990
• its increasingly engages with regions like africa
• military ambitions to build a blue water navy

Question 30

what is a blue water navy?

Answer 30

operates in the open ocean, whereas green water navy has only ships that can operate near the coast

Question 31

what is the G20

Answer 31

an international forum for twenty of the worlds largest economies

Question 32

what is the global environmental governance?

Answer 32

refers to international treaties and agreements that aim to reduce pollution, destruction of ecosystems and climate change

Question 33

what are some strengths and weaknesses of China as an emerging nation

Answer 33

+China’s People Liberation Army has the world’s largest army and has nuclear weapons.
+The population of 1.38 billion allows for a vast labour pool, allowing China’s economy to increase.
-Ageing population
-China is the world’s largest emitter of CO2​ ,​ producing 33% of the world’s emissions.

Question 34

what are some strengths and weaknesses of India as an emerging economy?

Answer 34

+It is a member of the G20 and was a founding member of the UN.
+Widespread use of English has been beneficial as it has attracted many TNCs and has caused a growth in trade opportunity
-Society is very unequal and more than 20% of people live in poverty.
-It has poor geopolitical relations with neighbours like China and Pakistan.

Question 35

what are some strengths and weaknesses of Brazil as an emerging nation?

Answer 35

+produces half of South Americas GDP
+has an abundance of natural resources (copper/food markets/iron)
+spends over 60% of South America’s military budget
-corruption and politically unstable with protests every year since 2013 due to budget cuts
-they have a boom and bust cycle for an economy

Question 36

what are the strengths and weaknesses of Russia as an emerging economy?

Answer 36

+large reserves for oil and gas
+it is a permanent member of the UN security council.
-it is the most unequal emerging nation where the richest 1% owns 71% of total wealth
-has difficult relations with the rest of the world

Question 37

what are the three development theories?

Answer 37

Rostow’s modernisation theory: ‘take off model’
Franks Dependency theory: argues that the relationship between developed and developing nations is one of dependency
Wallerstein’s World systems theory: sees the world as a global system of core, semi-periphery and periphery nations (semi-periphery are emerging economies)