Superpowers Flashcards
What are examples of past superpowers
- British Empire
- USSR
- China in 10th century via Silk Road
What are some examples of hyperpowers
- USA (1990-2010)
- Britain (1850-1910)
What are some examples of regional superpowers
- Saudi Arabia
- Iran
- Brazil
- Germany
- South Africa
- Egypt
What are Brazil’s strengths as a member of the BRIC nations
- regional leader in Latin America
- strong agricultural economy and exports
- growing middle class, and maturing consumer economy
- culturally influential (2012 World Cup + 2016 Olympics)
What are Brazil’s weaknesses as a member of the BRIC nations
- small military, with only a regional intervention capacity
- economy suffers from boom and burst phases
- needs to implement greater comntrol over deforestation
- education levels lag behind its competitors
What are Russia’s strengths as a member of the BRIC nations
- large nuclear reserves
- very large military capacity
- huge oil and gas resources
- permanent seat on the UN security council
What are Russia’s weaknesses as a member of the BRIC nations
- its populaiton is unhealthy, ageing, and declining
- extreme levels of ineqality
- economy overly dependent on oil and gas
- difficult diplomatic and geopolitical relations with the USA and EU
What are India’s strengths as a member of the BRIC nations
- youthful population with a large economic potential
- Eglish is widely spoken
- widespread graduate education
- nuclear armed
- sophisticated space and missile technology
What are India’s weaknesses as a member of the BRIC nations
- possible reosurce (water and energ) shortages
- poor transport and energy infrastructure
- very high levels of poverty
- poor political relations with its neighbours (Pakistan)
What are China’s strengths as a member of the BRIC nations
- highly educated, and technically innovative populaiton
- soon to be the worlds largest economy
- leads in the field of renewable energy
- growing military technology and reach
- challenging the USA in military terms
- modern transport infrastructure
What are China’s weaknesses as a member of the BRIC nations
- will soon have an ageing population
- major air and water quality pollution levels
- tense relations with neighbours in SE Asia
- rising wages causes its economy to become increasingly high for TNC’s
- relies on imported raw materials
- plays a limited geopolitical role on the global stage
how many military bases does the USA have
800
how many American soldiers are in Japan
50,000 soldiers
how much do the 800 military bases cost US tax payer money
$70-100 billion/year
what are factors of European Imperialism
- multi-polar world
- colonisation accompanied by racism and moral superiority
- mainly hard power
- populated countries with farmers and merchants
how did America overtake the UK in GDP in 1880
rapid industrialisation in late 1800s allowed the utilisation of natural resource
when was the Soviet Union created
in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917
when did the Soviet Union overtake the British for GDP
1941
when was a bi-polar world seen between USA and USSR
1945
what was the iron curtain
a group of satelite states that seperated East and West Europe
how did the USSR use soft power over the Eastern European countries
- held heavy political sway
- controlled elections
- dealt harshly with any deviation
how was peace maintained during the cold war
through NATO and the Warsaw PACT