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IB Geography SL + HL > HL Power, places and networks - Superpowers > Flashcards

HL Power, places and networks - Superpowers Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the definition of a superpower?

A

A superpower is a nation with the ability to project its influence anywhere in the world + be a dominant global force
- The term dates from the 1940s, used to describe the 3 main superpowers (British Empire, USA and the USSR)

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2
Q

What has happened since 1945?

A
  • British Empire disappeared - countries have gained independence
  • The USSR collapsed in 1991 - breaking in to 15 countries
  • The USA remains the world’s only true Superpower - it is a hegemon (or hyperpower) which means unchallenged superpower that is dominant in all aspects
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3
Q

What are the characteristics needed to project superpower influence anywhere in the world and be a dominant global force?

A
  • Economic power
  • Military power
  • Demographic power
  • Political power
  • Cultural power/influence
  • Access to natural resources
  • Geo-strategic location
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4
Q

What is the difference between hard power and soft power?

A

Hard power = Military force or its threat
–> Economic sanctions + diplomatic actions
- Coercive policy, e.g. tied aid or trade agreements
–> Political influence, moral authority, economic influence
Soft power = Cultural attractiveness

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5
Q

What is soft power?

A

The ability to achieve objectives through persuasion - is crucial to the effective conduct of foreign policy

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6
Q

What influences the soft power index?

A
  • Digital - country’s digital infrastructure + capabilities
  • Culture - global reach + appeal of cultural output (pop-culture + high culture)
  • Enterprise - attractiveness of country’s economic model + capability for innovation
  • Education - contribution to scholarships + attractiveness to international students
  • Engagement - strength of country’s diplomatic network + contribution to global engagement + development
  • Government - commitment to freedom, human rights, etc
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7
Q

What are the top 5 countries for soft power?

A
  1. France
  2. UK
  3. Germany
  4. Sweden
  5. US
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8
Q

Which country was widely seen as an unchallenged hyper-power until recently?
And which country threatens this status?

A

The US was until recently viewed as the unchallenged superpower
- However China is increasingly seen as a rival to this global superpower nowadays

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9
Q

What makes the US such a dominant economic superpower?

A
  • 40% of global personal wealth
  • World’s largest economy
  • Plays a leading role in key global economic organisations, many of which based in Washington/NYC - all WB presidents = American citizens
  • Main architect of global economic system + global trade rules/policies (to its own benefit)
  • ‘Washington consensus’ = WB + IMF policies which promote US interests
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10
Q

What makes the US such a dominant political superpower?

A
  • Defense budget = $700 million
  • Largest ‘blue water’ navy + air force
  • Overseas bases = quick response to global events + ability to apply pressure on countries
  • Supplies military training + weapons to range of allies
  • Global political influence extends beyond IGOs to organizations such as UN - US is permanent member of security council + holds VETO
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11
Q

What makes the US such a dominant cultural superpower?

A
  • Strong cultural influence - media, global news networks, film, music
  • American TNCs + global brands like McDonalds + Coca Cola have become ingrained into global culture
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12
Q

What has more recently counteracted the claim the USA has as the world’s unchallenged superpower?

A
  • Military involvement in Iraq + Afghanistan has put strain on US military power
  • Deindustrialization due to ‘global shift in manufacturing away from US towards SE Asia
  • 2008 financial crisis undermined US economic power = reduced economic growth
  • Trump introduced inward-looking government policy = potential decline in US trade + economy
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13
Q

Which four countries have experienced rapid economic growth in the 21st century?

A

The BRICs

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14
Q

What are the BRICs?

A
  • Brazil
  • Russia
  • India
  • China
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15
Q

How many states are now in the EU?

A

28

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16
Q

What other Asian nation is politically + economically accelerating?

A

Indonesia

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17
Q

What has enabled China to grow so fast economically in comparison to the other global superpowers/BRICs?

A
  • Open door policies
  • Large population
  • Incentives for FDI
  • Work exploitation
  • Transport advances
  • Offshoring/outsourcing
  • Tertrialisation in the west
  • Cheap labour
  • Relaxed environmental laws
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18
Q

What does China’s economy look like?

A
  • World’s 2nd largest economy
  • 1978 GDP = $292 billion
  • 2018 GDP = $13.6 trillion
  • By 2030 = world’s largest economy
19
Q

What initially drove China’s economic growth?

A

Export

20
Q

What economic social structure is driving further economic growth in China?

A

The emerging middle class - with disposable incomes

21
Q

How many of the world’s largest companies are based in China vs the US?

A
  • 2000:
    • USA = 179
    • China = 10
  • 2020:
    • USA = 121
    • China = 124
  • Huge Shift –> In 2020, for the first time ever China, including Hong Kong tops the US in representation within Global 500
22
Q

What decreases the value of the fast growing economy in China?

A

A large population (____) means that China’s GDP per capita is only 50% of the US’
USA - $65,000
China - $10,000

Also, development has not been evenly spread within China and there is a new development gap forming within China

23
Q

What does China’s demographic power look like?

A
  • Population of 1.4 billion
  • Well-educated, skilled workforce needed for industry + economic growth
  • Personnel for military

However, China faces rising challenges of an ageing population (legacy of one child policy changed to two-child policy in 2016
Dependency time bomb

24
Q

Why is China’s military and territorial power possibly able to challenge the US’ in the future?

A
  • Has world’s largest land army + nuclear weapons - both deterrents to invasion of its territory
  • Doesn’t yet have global military reach (e.g. Blue water navy, troops in other countries, participation in UN missions)
  • Only 2 aircraft carriers compared to US’ 11
    Is that changing?
  • China’s expansion into S. China Sea
  • China is building military bases on islands in the South China Sea, outside of its own territorial waters
25
Q

Why is the South China Sea so important?

A
  • One of the world’s most important trade routes
  • The islands there are also largely unexplored so estimates are extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighboring areas
  • Home to fishing grounds that supply the livelihoods of people across the region
26
Q

What are the names of the two groups of islands that China is trying to take over/claim as their own?

A
  • Paracel islands
  • Spratly islands
27
Q

Which countries have competing claims in the South China Sea?

A
  • China
  • Vietnam
  • The Philippines
  • Taiwan
  • Malaysia
  • Brunei
28
Q

How is China attempting to expand its influence in this area?

A
  • Building islands
  • Naval control
29
Q

What does the USA accuse China of?

A

Of “militarising” the South China Sea
- to which China has answered that that’s what the US are doing

30
Q

Why do certain countries believe that they have a claim over the Spratly and the Paracel islands

A
  • China - claims the largest portion of territory - says that its right to the area goes back centuries to when the islands were regarded as key to the Chinese nation + in 1947 they issued a map detailing their claims
  • Vietnam - Criticized the historical account saying before 1940s, China never claimed sovereignty - they say they’ve been actively ruling over both islands since the 17th century + have documents to prove it
  • Philippines - geographical proximity = main part of claim
  • Malaysia + Brunei - both lay claim to some territory in the SCS, however Brunei doesn’t lay claim to any of the islands, while Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys
31
Q

Both the Philippines + China lay claim to Scarborough shoal, but how far away is it from both countries?

A
  • A little more than 100 miles from the Philippines
  • 500 miles from China
32
Q
  1. Under international law what distance beyond a nation’s shoreline is regarded as its territory?
A

200 nautical miles

33
Q

What are three recent flashpoints that have happened in this area?

A
  • 1974 - the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam, killing more than 70 Vietnamese troops
  • Early 2012 - China + Philippines engaged in lengthy maritime standoff, accusing each other of intrusions in the Scarborough shoal
  • May 2014 - China’s introduction of drilling rig in waters near the Paracel islands led to multiple collisions between Chinese + Vietnamese ships
34
Q

Have they tried to reach a solution on the topic of territorial claims to the SCS?

A
  • China prefers bilateral negotiations with the other parties. But many of its neighbours argue that China’s relative size and clout give it an unfair advantage.
  • The Philippines has sought international arbitration instead. In 2013, it announced it would take China to an arbitration tribunal under the auspices of the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea, to challenge its claims.
  • In July 2016, the tribunal backed the Philippines’ case, saying China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights.
  • China had boycotted the proceedings, and called the ruling “ill-founded”. It says it will not be bound by it
35
Q

Which two countries tend to partner up when veto-ing votes in the UN security council?

A

China and Russia

36
Q

Example of veto when China + Russia partnered up?

A

The UN agencies wanted to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria, but the UNSC has not mandated them to do so
- China has used its veto as a block in support of Russia - to protect its ally, Syria’s president Assad - 13 times (2011-2019)

37
Q

What does China’s cultural power look like?

A
  • Lacks cultural power of US - in part due to its cultural isolation from the world for many years
  • It has few globally recognized brands even with 2nd largest economy in the world
  • Few foreign films allowed into China
  • Internet restrictions in China
  • Lack of democracy in China adversely affects its relations with other countries
38
Q

What is China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative for?

A

It’s a vast economic development plan linking China to areas in the west

39
Q

What does the name ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ refer to?

A
  • The ‘Belt’ refers to overland trade links
  • The ‘Road’ refers to sea-routes - the ‘Maritime Silk Road’
  • Focused on developing trade routes - road, rail, ports, trans-shipment hubs, airports + associated urban energy developments
40
Q

What are China’s objectives with the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative?

A
  • Alternative trade routes to the Malacca Strait (80% of China’s trade passes through the Malacca Strait
  • Access to new physical resources, and secure import routes
  • Stimulus for the Chinese economy, and Chinese energy/engineering TNCs
  • Regional economic + political alliances
  • Reducing US hegemony in South & East Asia
  • New port + airport infrastructure could have military use
  • Reduces the isolation of Tibetan and Uyghur people: cultural unification
41
Q

How much will the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative cost?

A
  • US$900 billion (conservative estimate)
  • About $60 billion is planned for Pakistan alone
  • China leased Sri Lankan port of Hambantota for 99 years
  • China has invested about $4 billion in Kenya, and about $5 billion in Ethiopia-Djibouti
42
Q

Who’s involved in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative?

A
  • Chinese government + government-owned companies
  • Chinese banks (SOEs)
  • Asian development banks
  • Asian Infrastructure Investment banks
  • Some funding from Russia, UAE and recently Saudi Arabia
43
Q

Which countries are involves in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative?

A
  • Port locations:
    • Sudan
    • Dijibouti
    • Sri Lanka
    • Pakistan
    • Kenya
  • Pakistan is a critical link circumventing the Malacca Strait sea route
  • Central Asian countries including Iran + Russia = essential for overhead planned links
44
Q

What geopolitical impact will the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative have?

A

Could be very significant –> shift in balance of power in Asia
- Former US allies shift towards China (Saudi Arabia + Turkey)
- Strengthens Russia-China ties

Many risks:
- China + Iran become stronger allies - increasing tension with the US
- India feels encircled by Chinese infrastructure + allies
- Internal rebellion in Tibet + Uyghur if policies seen as too repressive

IB Geography SL + HL (45 decks)

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