Superpowers Flashcards
What is a superpower
A nation with the means to project it’s power and influence anywhere in the world, and to be a dominant force.
Examples of Superpowers
USA, China, Russia and the UK
What are the 4 pillars and the base to a superpower status
Military, Political, Cultural influence, Access to natural resources with economic being the base
What are the hard powers
Military and Economic
What are the soft powers
Political, Culture, Geography, Natural resources
What was Mackinder’s theory
Whoever controlled the heartland (Eastern Europe to Russia) controlled the world.
What 3 things determined power in the heartland
- Whoever ruled the pivot ruled the heartland
- Whoever ruled heartland would command the world island
- Whoever ruled the world island would rule the world
What is a Unipolar world
A world with only 1 superpower
What is a Bipolar world
A world with only 2 superpowers
Explain the collapse of the British Empire
After the 1st world war, it became difficult for Britain to hold onto the empire for a number of reasons: Could no longer afford the empire, Had no right to rule people who didn’t want to be ruled and Britain realised their Navy wasn’t strong enough.
Define capitalism - USA
You can vote for who you want, industries can be owned by private companies, there is inequality among people with food and money.
Define communism - USSR
Only 1 option for voting, all industries are owned by the state, everyone has equal amounts of things.
What happened after WW2 with superpowers.
Cold war occurred
