Superpowers Flashcards
What is a superpower?
A nation/group of nations with leading position in international politics
What are economic characteristics of superpowers?
High GDP, heavy influence over global trade
What are political characteristics of superpowers?
Permanent seats on UN Security Council together with powerful allies, many multicultural agreements
What are military characteristics of superpowers?
High expenditure, large amount of hardware including nuclear weapons
What are cultural characteristics of superpowers?
Rich cultural history
What are demographic characteristics of superpowers?
Significant percentage of global population, attract skilled migrants
What access to service do superpowers have?
Able to export and control commodities such as oil
What is USA’s GDP compared to China’s?
$53,000 is USA compared to China’s $6000
What is hard power?
The ability of a country/group of countries to use military force or direct economic influence to make another country accept and situation or idea
What is soft power?
The ability of a country/group of countries to persuade other countries to agree to a situation or idea by attracting them
How can superpowers maintain power through history?
The British common-law legal approach where judges decide the outcome of cases, has been widely modellers around the world
How can superpowers maintain power through culture?
The BBC is a major international broadcaster and besides a rich literacy, artistic and musical legacy, English is the most widely spoken language after Mandarin
How can superpowers maintain power through economic power?
The USA remains the largest trading partner for many countries, exporting high value goods (military aircraft) and global brands (apple)
How can superpowers maintain power through military power?
The USA exercised hard power by confronting the Taliban and the death of Osama bin Laden
What does unipolar mean?
A distribution of power in which one state exercises most of the cultural, economic and military influence (British empire)
What is neo-colonialism?
The use of investment, trade and culture to influence independent countries instead of direct governance (soft power tactics)
What does the USA represent?
Capitalism, free market and manifest density
What does the USSR represent?
Communism, Marxism and control all means of production
What did the US economy grow by in 1992-1999?
grew by an average of 4% per year between 1992-1999
In 1992 what did the unemployment rate drop from?
8% -4%
What was Mackinders geographical pivot theory?
At the centre of the world island was the heartland-the pivot area which contained 50% of the worlds resources
Controlling this area secured control of the world island and in turn the rest of the world
How can superpowers cause environmental degradation?
Landscape scarring, built environment, oil spills and removal of forests
What is landscape scarring?
Mining removes vegetation and scars the landscape, air and noise pollution, extraction of minerals require chemicals which contaminate groundwater
What is the built environment cause?
Coal used in power stations, increased car ownership means greater oil consumed, industrial chimneys may emit pollutants causing acid rain
In 2003, more than 250 Chinese cities were affected by acid rain
What do oil spills cause?
BP’s oil rig exploded causing 450 million litres escaped, chemicals used to reduce oil slick damage marine and wildlife
What can the removal of forests cause?
Brazil’s food production increased by 26% between 2002-2012, forests cleared and converted to cropland, agriculture causes 8-18% of global GHG’s when deforestation occurs
What are barriers to willingness to act?
Consumerist lifestyle, politics, disagreement of solutions, big businesses and TNC’s
Increasing wealth is emerging countries has increased demand for…
Rare earth elements, food supply and water supply
