Superpowers Flashcards
1
Q
Economic power
A
- Economic power refers to the size of a country’s economy and if it has influence globally
2
Q
Economic superpowers
A
World’s largest economy
- America with $20trillion in GDP
Second largest economy:
- China with $14trillion in GDP
- Japan = 3rd largest economy
- World’s 10 largest economy earn 65% of GDP
5 largest consumer markets:
- USA
- China
- Japan
- Germany
- UK
3
Q
Currencies
A
- Dollar is considered most powerful currency atm
- Turkey had problems in 2018 because they had debt to dollars and lira kept depreciating so they couldn’t repay
4
Q
Size & geographical position
A
- Larger country, more physical resources, bigger influence
- British empire gained superpower status without physical size by navy and tactics and had India under its league
- Russia, world’s largest country has resources & superpower status with hegemony Putin
- Russia gained Arctic under control with Canada
- Rosneft, a Russian controlled oil company invested $1.5bn+ since 2012 on Arctic exploration
- Russia has 11% world’s landmass and 145mill inhabitants
- USA = 3rd largest in size = rich in resources such as steel and oil = large domestic market = sell to consumers = tnc benefit from economies of scale
5
Q
Political power
A
- Globalisation made it rare for a country to influence on its own
- Organisations such as: EU, OECD & G20 have global influence
- G20 = A Club for 20 largest economies in the world & members represent 1/2 world’s population
- Some member nations = China, USA, Mexico, UK
6
Q
Measuring military power
A
- In the past n.o troops and ships was best measure of military power
- Now in 21st century defence > size of military
- Military technology adv = countries may spend more on complex military equipment to increase power
7
Q
Cultural Influence
A
- Disney promotes global culture with American traits through films + tv shows
- Netflix is spreading US culture internationally
- YouTube spreading US culture & China
8
Q
Demographic Characteristics
A
- China used its population of 1.4bn for its strong labour force to give TNC’s cheap labour to grow its manufacturing sector
- China is becoming more wealthy and its large population is offering TNC’s a large consumer market
9
Q
Access to natural resources
A
- UK’s supply of coal kick started the Industrial Revolution
- USA very rich in Iron & Steel which was vital in late 1800s
- E.g D.Rockfelller’s Standard Oil was op from 1870-1911 so it was broken up
- Africa has huge natural resources reserves —> conflicts + corruption + exploitation
10
Q
Geo-Strategic location
A
- MacKinder argued that ‘whoever controlled Europe and Asia would control the world’
- He believe physical size was vital in superpower status
- MacKinder named a ‘heartland’ from Eastern Europe into Russia = ‘Pivot area’
- He believed UK could dominate from Western Europe to Pacific using sea power
