Superpowers Flashcards
Hegemony
Leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others
Evolution of Superpowers?
- 1850-1945 = British Empire
- 1845-1990 = USSR + USA
- 1990 – Present = USA
- Emerging 21st Century Superpowers = China + India
Physics size and Geographical position
Physical size and position are important, because each one determines the area over which a country has potential influence. It also means that country has access to greater amounts of resources.
Russia has 14 neighbours and they are all so different; Russia can therefore exert its influence.
Resources
Resources can be crucial to starting a manufacturing industry such as iron ore for steel or oil to generate electricity for industry.
When countries threaten a shortage of their resource then they gain influence.
TNCs – Shell in Nigeria
Exporting – Australia and its iron reserves.
Influence – OPEC forced a raised price of oil and Russia threatened to cut gas supplies to Europe.
Giving examples, explain how Superpowers can exert their influence?
September 2014 - the EU and USA created a joint agreement to sanction a trade embargo on Russia to put pressure on them after their invasion and annexation of Crimea in March 2014
US embargo on Cuba placed in 1962 which seriously affected Cuba’s sugar industry, this was due to Cuba nationalising US companies in Cuba which caused the loss of $1 billion dollars of US loss
the US in 2015 spent $601 billion on its military, more than the next seven top spending countries combined
British Empire Technological superiority
Britain became the first nation to harness the power of steam, which unleashed an Industrial Revolution and a mass of high quality, mass-produced goods. Precision-made muskets, rifles, machine guns, train locomotives and steam ships would provide the relatively small and outstretched British armed forces with unparalleled advantages
British Empire influence?
Cultural imperialism – cricket, tea and the English language
Mackinders Heartland Theory?
Mackinder’s Heartland Theory
• The World was split into 3 main regions
o World Island - Europe, Asia and some of North Africa
o Offshore Islands – British Isles and Japan
o Outlying Islands – Australia, North and South America and South, West and East Africa
o Heartland in the middle of the World Island
• Eastern Europe was of great strategic importance; whoever held Eastern Europe held the Heartland and whoever held the Heartland held the world
• Domination of the Heartland had failed in the past due to the sea to the north being covered in ice and land the lack of supplies and transport made land invasions unsuccessful
• Mackinder believed that land-power become far more important than sea-powers
Modernism
- The Modernists believed that Britain and Western Europe had created a ‘modern society’
- This society was the most advanced in the world both culturally and industrially
- Modernists therefore saw it as their duty to better the world through colonialism
- They wanted to portray themselves as modern, civilized, superior and progressive and encourage the ‘lesser’ races and peoples to become more like them.
- Their example therefore would better the entire world
- Further fueled by ‘Darwinism’
- The leading cause of Modernism leading to colonialism is that the Modernists genuinely believed that Britain should lead the world as the populations would be better off that way
- Britain therefore colonized more where it thought the people were helpless and needed to be brought towards being more like them – the superior race
- This was often dictated by race
British Influence due to British Empire?
British overseas territories - Falkland Islands, Gibraltar
Football, rugby, Hockey, Golf, Tennis
Anglicised legal systems, parliaments and rule of law
Well developed civil service structures
Speaking English
Common Wealth Games
USA vs USSR as Superpowers?
USA
Massive wealth from Second World War; high GDP
Largest military monopoly; atomic weapons
Most technologically advanced country
Political power
Large oil reserves
USSR
Huge industrial machine after the Second World War
Largest land mass in the world: satellite states – AHPECBR and largest number of bordering countries
Largest population in world; large workforce
Largest standing army in world
Large amounts of natural resources
Fall of USSR
1985 – Newly elected President Gorbachev introduced:
- Glasnost “openness” – Freedom of speech
- Perestroika “restructuring” – Private ownership of small business
Late 1980s – Economic failure and food shortages. Lack of competition made industry extremely inefficient and created a deficit. Arms race led by Reagan also ran the USSR into bankruptcy.
1989 – 1991 – breakup of USSR
Neo - colonialism
A form of indirect control over developing countries, most of them former colonies
Imports 22% of oil from Africa
Angola third largest supplier of oil to China in 2016
Exports to Africa in 2015 were about 120 billion whilst imports were only 50 billion - core and periphery
Aid
- Aid is often given to allies and ‘friends’ rather than the most needy countries, and much aid is often ‘tied’ up
- Debt repayments channel money from the developing to the developed world
- Even debt relief schemes such as the HIPC scheme have been criticised
Although countries such as Madagascar or Zambia are qualified for full debt relief, they are not in the top 10 of US aid whereas Israel ($2,520 million) and Egypt ($1,795 million) are the top receivers of US aid and are not qualified for any debt relief. The only country that is qualified for full debt relief and is in the top 10 receivers of aid from the US is Bolivia, which receives $122 million.
USA political influence
G8 UN sc NATO OECD IMF
