superpowers Flashcards
What is the definition of a superpower?
A country with the ability to project its dominating power and influence anywhere in the world
-> through their economy, military and political influence
e.g USA
What is the definition of an emerging power?
Countries that are potential superpowers of the future.
They hold significant economic power with growing political influence
e.g Brazil, India
What is the definition of an regional power?
Can project dominating power over other countries within the continent they are
e.g UK, Germany, France in Europe
What are the 6 superpower characteristics?
ECONOMIC
- Large GDP, high % of international trade
- Able to make money around the world through ownership of TNCs
POLITICAL
- Will hold significant influence in intergovernmental organisations
- Can influence how other countries behave and what policies they follow
MILITARY
- Military power with a global reach means they can achieve geopolitical goals
- Military is an important way of expanding influence over other countries
- Superpowers will spend a large proportion of their GDP on military
CULTURAL
- Superpower often have a specific ideaology that other countries may choose to follow
- May have significant influence over arts, food + fashion
DEMOGRAPHIC
- Having a larger population that is educated and healthy can lead to more power (soft)
- Creates larger labour force and army
RESOURCES
- Control of access to physical resources: energy + minerals
- Provides input for economic growth
- Means they can be exported at a higher price -> economic power
What should a true superpower have?
All 6 characteristics of a superpower -> currenlty the USA is the only true superpower
What is a hyperpower?
Dominates all 6 characteristics of a superpower and is completely unchallenged by other powers
E.g
Britain was a hyperpower between 1850-1910
The USA was a hyperpower between 1990-2010
What is hard power?
using military and economic influence (trade deals, sanctions) to force a country to act in a particular way
What are different elements of hard power?
Military force
-> involves the threat of action and the invasion of another country.
Economic sanctions
-> can take the form of trade restrictions, freezing of assets, arms embargoes and travel bans
-> they aims to limit opportunities for a country to act in a undesirable way
Over time hard power’s importance has decreased over time
What is soft power?
Is the use of power through attractive policies or ideologies
What are the elements of soft power?
- Soft power is seen through culture of one country spreading around the world in the form of films, music, television, social media and recognisable brands
- Spread and use of a common language
- International relations is a key element of soft power. Countries that can get on well with others are able to influence countries with appealing policies and cultural values
- Globalisation has contributed to the spread and growing importance of soft power in today’s world.
How can soft and hard power be combined?
- Some strategies combine elements of hard and soft power
E.g
Some economic policies are examples of soft power as they involve no direct threat. However the nature of the trade agreements may control how a wishes to control to sell its good (may be forced to sell for lower which is hard power)
Which is the most effective (hard or soft power)?
- Hard power can get results, but it is expensive and risky
- Others may view military action as unnecessary or illegal, so aggressor may lose allies
- Soft power relies on a country having respected culture + values
-> if applied well, is lost cost and is about creating alliances
What is an example of hard power?
2003: invaded Iraq in the Second Gulf War when economic sanctions (softer power) failed to persuade President Hussein to change policy
What is an example of soft power?
UK
- 5th largest economy - attractive market and source of TNC FDI
- City of London dominates international finance, banking and law
- Diplomacy - one of the largest network of diplomats and embassies in the world
What is geostrategic theory?
The idea that controlling certain areas of land can make a country strategically stronger and have a greater influence over other nations
How has use of hard power and soft power changed over time?
Hard power was important e.g control of natural resources, British Empire
- War and conflict now seem out of place, wheras they were seen as accepted ways of gaining power
- Soft power has become more COMMON as a way of gaining influence and maintaining power
What is smart power?
involves the strategic use of diplomacy, persuasion and the projection of power and influences in ways that have political and social legitimacy
What was Mackinder’s theory?
HEARTLAND THEORY
Identified the centre of Eurasia as a ‘heartland”
- the geographical position of this region means that is is centred on a large land mass and inland position that gives protection from attacks from sea
- also contains a large % of natural resources
Mackinder stated that whoever had power of the heartland would be a superpower
Describe power in the Imperial Era (1500-1950) ?
European powers conquered land in the Americas, Africa and Asia and built empires
The development of empires relied on:
- powerful navies to transport soldiers + equipment
- large armies to conquer land
- business, often government owned, to exploit resources in conquered territories
Empires were maintained directly by force
What are the 3 main patterns of power?
Unipolar world
Bipolar world
Multipolar world
What is a unipolar world?
one globally dominant superpower
e.g British Empire
What is a bipolar world?
A world were two superpowers that have different ideologies contest each others power and influence but equal in status
e.g
Cold War era (Russia vs US)
What is a multi-polar world?
Where multiple superpowers and emerging powers are influencing other countries, often in the geographical region they are in.
Is a unipolar world stable?
- some argue this is unstable as other powers are likely to challenge the dominant power
- however it can be dominate is the power has suffienect hard and soft power
Is a bi-polar world stable?
- if both powers are content to share control, it can be a stable system
- however if diplomacy breaks down it can lead to tense stand-offs e.g Cold War
Is a multi-polar world stable?
- this may appear more stable as there is a greater division of power
- as seen between the WW1 + WW2 it can lead to a power vacuum -> which lead to the rise in Nazi Germany
FUTURE
- some argue that there may a multi-polar world soon (USA, China, India, EU) having a major impact of geopolitical stability
What were the 4 categories for Dunn’s Model of power?
- Economic power
- Military power
- Cultural + ideologies
- Geographical power
Who developed the World Systems theory?
Wallerstein in 1974
What is the Dependency Theory?
CORE
- provides the periphery with manufactured goods, aid, political ideas etc as well as pollution and waste
PERIPHERY
- provides the core with raw materials, cheap labour and debt repayments
Periphery can be exploited by core - which slows its development and furthers the core’s development
Creates a dependency relationship between developed and developing countries
What is a criticism of the dependency theory?
- not all countries belong to periphery or core
What is the World Systems theory?
Expanded the Dependency theory to include the SEMI-PERIPHERY, which is made up of emerging economies
- semi-periphery is able to dominate the periphery but not the core
- semi-periphery also provide the core with resources and receive goods in exchange
-> this relates to underdevelopment., semi-periphery will stay poorer than the core
What is the Modernisation Theory?
Suggests that economic development only begins when certain pre-conditions are met:
- modern infrastructure
- education
- banking
- effective government
What are semi-periphery countries?
have organisational characteristics of both core countries and periphery countries and are often geographically located between the two
What was the Cold War?
a period of heightened tension + a series of proxy wars between the USSR + US
What were some of the causes of the Cold War?
A bi-polar world formed after the power-vaccum following the end of WW2
- conflicting ideologies between US (capitalist) + USSR (communist)
- US funded proxy wars in countries under threat from communism (e.g Greece)
- NATO was set up in 1949 - set up to prevent spread of communism
-> USSR set up the Warsaw Pact (China + Russia ) in response
What is a proxy war
a war fought between groups of smaller countries that each represent interests of larger powers
What proxy wars were fought during the Cold War?
AFGANISTAN
- wanted to turn communist + was funded by Russia
- US funded rebels (these went onto form the Taliban)
-> US left Afgan at end of the war causing a power vaccum + lead to 2001 war
VIETMAN
- US vs Vietnamse people
- Vietnam was communist
- was a show of hard power by US that failed when the US lost the war
What were the outcomes of the Cold War?
- increased nuclear weapon testing + development
-> each country trying to hold the most hard power - a Moscow - Washington direct phone line was set up
- Cuban missle crisis
- space race - a show of soft power to prove who was most technologically advanced
-> lead to development of missiles (hard power)
How did the Cold War end?
ended in 1989
- when the USSR’s economy failed
- smaller states where then created as countries gained independence
Why is China likely to rival the US in the future?
- huge human resources
- has 2nd largest GDP in the world
- increasingly engages with other parts of the world
-> growing global influence
-> invests in development in Africa - has an increasing military force
Why is China not yet a major superpower?
- military has limited reach
-> only 1 overseas naval base
-> navy rarely leaves Indo-Pacific region - approx 25% of China’s population lie in poverty
- lack of democracy
- human rights abuses
- many in China do not have access to good healthcare, education or clean water
What is a TNC?
Transnational Corporation - companies that operate in more than one country
What is a NGO?
a non-profit organisation that operates independently of any government
- aims to address political or social issues
What is a sphere of influence?
a country of are in which another country has power to affect developments although has no formal authority
What are the 4 main emerging powers?
Brazil
Russia
India
China
What strengths + weaknesses does Brazil have as an emerging power?
STRENGTHS
- has large supplies of oil and biofuels
- large middle-class consumer market
WEAKNESS
- small military
- high levels of domestic inequality
What strengths + weaknesses does Russia have as an emerging power?
STRENGTHS
- strong military + nuclear weapons
- significant oil + gas supplies
- growing economic + political links to Asia
WEAKNESSES
- has ageing + declining population
- difficult geopolitical relationship with US + Europe