superpowers Flashcards
Unipolar
One dominated by one superpower
Bipolar
one in which two superpowers, with opposing ideologies, vie for power
Multipolar
many superpowers and emerging powers compete for power in different regions
imperialism
a policy of extending a country’s power and influence especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other territories and populations.
neocolonialism
the continued dependence of former colonies on other countries after their independence. often an exploitative relationship between more powerful developed countries who are using their relationship with less developed countries for their own benefit.
Strategic alliances
military alliances between developing nations and superpowers make the developing nation dependent on military aid and equipment from the superpower.
Aid
development aid comes with ‘strings attached’, forcing the recipient to agree to policies and spending priorities suggested by the aid donor.
TNC investment
investment from abroad may create jobs and wealth, but be dependent on the receiving country following ‘friendly’ policies.
Terms of trade
Low commodity export prices contrast with high prices for imported goods from developed countries, inhibiting development.
debt
developing countries borrow money from developed ones, and then end up in debtor-creditor relationship.
BRICS
a group of 5 major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
G7
an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA
G20
the G7 members plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, turkey and Russia.
UN
the United Nations- an intergovernmental organisation aiming to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations.
OECD
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
MINT
a group of four countries with the potential to realise rapid economic growth: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.
COP
Conference of the Parties
IGO
Intergovernmental Organisation
IMF
International Monetary Fund
WTO
World Trade Organisation
WEF
World Economic Forum
TNC
Transnational Corporation
Modernisation Theory
Capitalism is the fundamental solution to poverty- the USA believed that if investment was made into countries bordering China and the USSR, this would prevent communism from spreading.
What are publicly traded TNCs?
Shares held by a range of players around the world. shareholders receive dividends based on profits each year.
what are state owned TNCs?
majority or whole of the TNC is owned by government. all profits go to the state.
What can the UN Security Council do?
apply sanctions to countries that are a security risk, authorise the use of military force against a country and authorise a UN peacekeeping Force.
What are criticisms of the UN Security Council?
Any of the five permanent states can veto a decision, the USA, UK and France tend to vote ‘as one’ as do Russia and China, have been accused of failing to act, countries take individual action when an agreement cannot be reached collectively, undermining the principles of the council.
What issues can international trade have?
being resources at high prices, trading with unfriendly regimes or ones that are politically unstable, trade routes can be blocked due to conflict.
What tensions have occurred in the Arctic?
climate change has caused the melting of ice sheets which has exposed material wealth in the seabed and created new trade routes.
What tensions have occurred in the UK?
Owning land doesn’t mean you own resources and mineral wealth beneath- the Prince of Wales owns all the mineral wealth in Cornwall but doesn’t own the land.
What tensions have occurred in Iraq?
high demand for resources has caused disputes- weak and corrupt governments have caused some disputes to become violent.
What are political spheres of influence?
powerful nations having the power to intervene in the affairs of others. UN
International Court of Justice
The judicial branch of the UN and has 15 judges.
The same five as the UN Security Council (USA, UK, Russia, France, China).
It settles disputes between UN member countries and advises on international law. The judgements are binding which means that there is a increased likelihood of a reduced amount of conflicts as it is linked to international law. The court only deals with individual countries and not individual people.
Role of US and China in COP26 summit
-joint agreement between the US and China that announced that they would cooperate in limiting emissions
-however, their agreement will not reach the target of a reduction by 1.5 degrees.
-both countries would share policies and technological development.
Haiti- USAID humanitarian funding
-$98,847,108 in humanitarian aid
-offered food security ($31.3 million in emergency food assistance
-81,000 commodities for like water were funded by USAID
-$10.3 million in health support
-671 missions completed by aircraft support
-588,000 pounds of relief commodities transported to affected areas.
NATO
-adopted principle at the start of the Cold War that states that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
-russian military activity in Georgia and Ukraine and Crimea has brought NATO back.
ANZUS
- Australia, New Zealand and US co-operate on military matters in the Pacific and beyond
NAFTA
-USA, Canada and Mexico Trade Agreement in which its concerns are economic.
-benefits USA as labour costs are lower in Mexico-manufacturing has moved into mexico
IPCC
-produces reports that support the main international treaty on climate change
emerging middle class
-demand for more resources- causes a greater cost and limits the availability; damages physical environment
Political and Military tensions in the arctic
-access to material wealth in the seabed
-Russia staked their claim in 2007 by planting a titanium flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole
- Denmark claimed a section of the arctic-creating an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
a country can control the seabed and resources within by claiming exclusive rights to the area for fishing, drilling and other economic activities
South China Sea
-tense region that China has tried to control
-China has aggressively pursued a policy of island settlement and artificial island buildings- adding military facilities
Intellectual Property Rights
-provides legal protections, establish guidelines and facilitate international cooperation in areas related to intellectual property
-counterfeiting- the unauthorised reproduction or imitation of products protected by these intellectual property rights, can undermine the global IPR system in several ways such as economic losses, reduced innovation, strained trade relations, loss of TNC investment and lack of consumer safety
IPR climate in Thailand
-counterfeiting and piracy plague IPR ownsers in Thailand.
-Lack of enforcement remains a problem.
retail marketplaces make counterfeit and pirated products readily accessible.
-Thai enforcement system remains slow and makes it hard for right holders to enforce their rights.
-created tensions over territory
superpower
a country with dominating power or influence. they have the ability to project their influence anywhere in the world.
emerging power
a country with growing power and influence; a potential superpower
regional power
a country with power and influence in a specific geographic region
current superpower
one of the current superpowers is the USA, it is the only global superpower to maintain its power over time. many others lost their power during the 1940s after WWII.
what makes a superpower?
-physical size and geographical position
-economic power and influence
-demographic factors
-military strength
-political factors
-cultural influence
-access to natural resources.
hard power
using military and direct political intervention to change or influence the behaviour of other countries.
soft power
indirectly attracting national governments to their country e.g. culture
mackinders heartland
Mackinder identified a region of Eurasia as the ‘Heartland’ from Russia-china and arctic-himalayans. this was a geo-strategic location because whoever controlled it would control a large amount of physical and Human Resources. the shrinking world has reduced the importance of the heartland.
world systems theory
two economic areas within the world; core and periphery. core= economic powerhouse, controls trade agreements and currency. periphery= provides natural resources for core. exploitative relationships.
modernisation theory
Rostov believed countries pass through five stages for economic growth; traditional society, pre-conditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, high mass consumption.
unipolar power
one dominated by one superpower
bipolar
one in which two superpowers, with opposing ideologies, vie for power.
multipolar
many superpowers and emerging powers compete for power in different regions
imperialism
a policy of extending a country’s power and influence especially direct territorial power or by gaining economic control of other territories.
colonialism
Britain rules 1/4 of the world’s land. 1/3 of world population.
multipolar world (1919-1939)
rapidly industrialising germany, anticolonialism, declarations of independence, creation of Irish Free State, creation of USSR, post-war bankruptcy, growth of US and Japanese naval power, US strengthening power.
neocolonialism
the continued dependence of former colonies on other countries after their independence, often. exploitative relationship. more developed powerful countries using relationship with less developed countries for their own benefit.
post-colonial era
strategic alliances- military alliances between superpowers and developing nations, making developing nations reliant on military aid.
aid- development aid comes with ‘strings attached’. forcing recipient to agree to policies.
TNC investment- investment making jobs, but dependency on donors
terms of trade- low commodity export prices contrast with high prices for exported goods.
debt- developing countries borrow money, creating debtor-creditor relationships.
Russia’s sphere of influence
increased tensions in Western Europe has caused implications for economies. consumers have also suffered in Russia as economic isolation has caused imports to dry up. Russias influence in Western Europe is also being significantly affected by the current Russia-Ukraine war through sanctions placed on Russia and the limits of Russian oil into Europe.
Role of TNCs
Largest publicly traded TNCs: Walmart ($486 billion revenue), Royal Dutch Shell ($421 billion revenue), Exxon Mobil ($394 billion revenue).
Largest state-owned TNCs: Sinopec ($456 billion revenue), China National Petroleum ($428 billion revenue), Saudi Aramco ($378 billion revenue).
The role of TNCs are their large economic scale meaning they can out-compete smaller companies, their ability to borrow money means that they can take advantage of globalisation by investing in new technology, taking advantage of free trade markets also means that they can expand quickly.
TNCs are essential in growing the power of superpowers. over half of the top 12 global brands are from the USA, meaning these global brands play a huge role in westernisation and their impact on many independent cultures. for example, coca-cola and McDonalds is a worldwide brand, operating in many developing countries, providing local jobs and adapting their menus for global consumption (globalisation).
