Superpowers Flashcards
What is a superpower?
A superpower is a nation or a group of nations with a leading position in international politics.
What is a regional power and use examples?
Have strong influence within their region but are less powerful outside that region e.g Nigeria, Brazil and Russia
5 pillars of superpower status
Economic
Political
Social
Environmental
Cultural
What is hard power?
‘Hard’ power is defined as power through force or coercion and is likely to involve military power or economic sanctions.
What is soft power?
‘Soft’ power, on the other hand, is exerting influence through favour and persuasion, and is therefore likely to be based on cultural power.
Why was AUKUS set up?
Containment of China’s sphere of influence
Example of Hard Power
- Criticising the policies of close allies e.g Canada, UK may have weakened the soft power the USA had with these countries
- Economic sanctions against Iran 2019
- President Trump downgraded America’s use of soft power arguing for America’s home interests first
- Trumps presidency (2017-2021)
Example of Soft Power
Diplomacy - The UK has one of the largest embassies and high comissions. UK objections are often achieved through diplomatic influence.
Huawei: Superpower’s in TNCs
- It has been banned from the UK’s 5G infrastructure
- It is questions to whether it has links with China’s government
- It is investing in the UK especially in university research
- Huawei says it has “partnerships” with 35 UK universities including Imperial, Surrey, Cambridge and Southampton.
- It says it has spent £80 million in the last 10 years on UK based research
What is a unipolar world?
A unipolar world is one dominated by one superpower e.g. the British Empire or the US-dominated world of today
What is a bipolar world?
A bipolar world is one in which two superpowers, with opposing ideologies, vie for power, e.g. the USA and USSR during the Cold War.
British Empire: Mercantile phase 1600-1850
Small colonies are conquered by force on coastal fringes and islands, e.g. New England (now the USA), Jamaica, Accra (Ghana) and Bombay (India) and defended by coastal forts.
The forts, and navy, protect trade in raw materials (sugar, coffee, tea) and slaves which were in effect bought at a very low price or simply taken from other countries.
These raw materials were taken to the UK and manufactured (the birth of the industrial revolution) into products that were then sold back to the colonies (at a much higher price) through the same protected trade routes. This practice led to rapid economic development in the UK (and also stimulated it in the colonies) and helped make it a global power.
British Empire: Imperial phase 1850-1945
The Royal navy dominated the world’s oceans protecting the colonies. By 1914 the British navy was twice the size of the second biggest, Germany.
Government institutions with British colonial administrations are set up to rule colonial populations
Complex trade develops, including the export of UK-manufactured goods to the new colonial markets
Settlers from Britain set up farms and plantations in colonies
Technology, e.g. railways and telegraph, is used to connect distant parts of the empire. This ease of communication helps create a sense of unity between the colonies.
Empires often thought of themselves as more evolved humans who had a divine right to rule over and teach the savages how to dress (in western clothing), pray (Christianity), trade (capitalism) and run their country by forcing their own ways of governance upon them.
British Empire: Direct control of India
British military personnel, civil servants and entrepreneurs emigrated to India to run the Raj (the system put in place to rule India by the British)
Educated Indians (speaking English and wearing western clothes) occupied many lower administrative positions. This created a sense that the more educated, important and wealthy wore western clothes and spoke English.
India was modernized, especially through the construction of 61,000km of railways by 1920; these allowed for both the efficient transport of troops to any part of India to put down a rebellion, as well as the efficient transport of goods to ports for export to Britain. This network has sped the recent industrialization of India allowing for the fast and efficient movement of people and goods.
What is Mackinder’s heartland theory?
In 1904, Mackinder, a British geographer, created a theory about global power called the geo-strategic location theory.
He believed that whoever controlled Europe and Asia – the biggest landmass – would control the world not only because of its size but also because of its natural resources and a large population. Mackinder also claimed that it was impenetrable because it was surrounded by mountains, deserts and the frozen Arctic.
Containment of communism
Truman Doctrine: resulted in military conflicts with some of the USA’s allies like Korea and Vietnam
Why is Mackinder’s heartland theory rejected now?
It is believed that Mackinder’s Heartland theory is no longer relevant today. Modern technological advances and the interconnectedness of all countries through globalisation have rendered the theory irrelevant. Furthermore:
- The Soviet Union built roads and rail networks that made the heartland accessible
- Modern technology such as modern warfare and missiles and fighter jets could easily manage the ‘natural barriers’
- The Arctic is not as large as Mackinder depicted it to be. Also – it is now melting so the heartland is even more accessible.
Multipolar world 1919-1939
Britain was not alone in having colonies during the imperial era.
- Even the USA had overseas possessions (Philippines, Panama) as did Germany, France and other European countries.
- The period between 1919 and 1939 was an increasingly MULTI-POLAR one. Germany became more powerful during the 1930’s as Hitler rearmed for war and Imperial Japan began increasing power in Asia.
- USA became economically and militarily stronger, challenging Britain’s traditional global leadership.
- European powers were still strong, but weakened by poor economic performance and the costs of maintaining empires.
What is Neo-colonialism?
Neo-colonialism is a form of indirect control over developing countries.
Means ‘new’ colonialism, where countries remain under control from overseas –even though they are supposedly independent.
It is largely a form of economic imperialism. The IMF and World Bank and how they control developing countries through SAPs – that is neo-colonialism.
Direct political control decreases whilst economic control increases
China’s FDI in Africa (Neo-colonialism)
- Between 2000 and 2014 China invested $86 billion in 3000 projects in African nations
- Africa is resource-rich: 90% of platinum and cobalt supplies (a third of China’s investment is in mining)
- Standard-Guage Railway in Sudan $1.45 billion
- Copper mining South Africa $1.36 billion
Brazil Economic: predicting future superpowers
- Brazil is important regionally because it produces half of South America’s GDP
- Agriculture, third largest producer of iron ore, fifteenth largest producer of oil, and third largest of HEP.
Brazil Political: predicting future superpowers
Has been politically less stable in recent years, with accusations of corruption as well as protests every year since 2013 caused by the government spending cuts perceived as government corruption.
Brazil Military: predicting future superpowers
Spends 60% of South America’s total military budget
Brazil Cultural: predicting future superpowers
2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics and Rio’s carnival
Brazil Environmental: predicting future superpowers
- Brazil’s biodiversity includes 13% of all known species
- Rapid deforestation
India Economic: emerging superpowers
- Indian economy has quadrupled between 1997 and 2015
- English speaking country - good for TNCs
- Government is facing large debts which has led to the reduction of the rupee
India Political: emerging superpowers
- India is the world’s largest democracy
- Founding member of the UN
- Commonwealth links with UK as a former colony
India Military: emerging superpowers
- Global Fire Power ranks India as the world’s fourth largest military in terms of its weaponry
India Cultural: emerging superpowers
- The world’s largest film industry, Bollywood
- Birth place of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
