SUPERPOWERS! Flashcards
what is an emerging power?
a country that has increasing influence but is not yet dominant E.g. Brazil Russia India and China (BRIC emerging powers)
what is a superpower?
A country with a dominating power and influence, means that this country influences different parts of the world beyond their own borders
what is a hegemon?
A supreme power or a country that is dominant over others
superpowers’ economies in 2018:
The USA has a larger economy than Japan
USA has GDP of $20 trillion
China has GDP of $14 trillion
what is the most powerful currency?
US dollar
some investors do not trust other currencies
three largest economies in the world:
The USA: $20 trillion GDP in 2018
China: $14 trillion GDP in 2018
Japan: $5 trillion GDP in 2018
how much of the global GDP do the world’s 10 largest economics earn?
65%
Russia as a superpower:
Controls the Arctic region with untapped resources
contains 11% of the worlds landmass
Population of 145 million people in 2016
examples of member nations of the G20:
The UK
the USA
Mexico
China
what is the G20?
The 20 largest economies in the world
examples of nations with nuclear weapons:
israel
USA
Pakistan
India
which measure is the best indicator of military strength in the modern day?
defence spending
what is a key characteristic of being a superpower in the 21st-century?
cultural influence
how is a superpowers cultural influence increased?
Through their presence on digital platforms media companies and film studios have a big role to play in sporting culture across the world
Who was influential in US raw materials in the 1890s and 1900s?
Andrew Carnegie
John D. Rockefeller
what was key to kickstarting the industrial revolution in the 19th century?
the UK’s supply of coal
what is Singapore’s population?
5.6 million
what was the name of the oil company broken up by congress in the 1900s?
Standard Oil
which natural resources were the USA rich in?
iron and steel
how did MacKinder think Britain could dominate the world?
using the sea
when was MacKinder’s theory developed?
1904
what is an example of soft power?
dominance of global multimedia
what are some major historic colonial powers?
Britain
Spain
the Netherlands
what is neo-colonialism?
when less-developed countries are still indirectly controlled by superpowers through economic cultural or political methods
how much aid was given by the US Marshall plan after World War II?
$12 billion
what are types of hard power?
coercive measures
military force
economic sanctions
China is run by what kind of government?
Authoritarian
how many people were lifted out of poverty in China between 2012 and 2017?
68.53 million
what is the fertility rate in China?
1.57 births per woman (below replacement levels)
Global firepower military rankings:
- USA
- Russia
- China
in 2016 roughly how many more people lived in BRIC nations relative to the USA?
3 billion
how much did China’s carbon emissions rise by in the first part of 2018?
4%
what has Brazil net exported since 2011?
Oil
Brazil’s characteristics:
cultural: host of 2016 Rio olympics, host of 2014 Football World Cup
demographic: median pop age of 31.3 in 2015, fertility rate: 1.8 in 2015 (vs 6 in 1960)
environmental: amazon rainforest contains 13% of world’s biodiversity
which of the BRIC nations is in the best demographic position?
Brazil
what percentage of GDP does Brazil spend on its military?
2.166%
Brazil facts:
2.166% of its GDP spent on its military
10 day strike of truckers
its economy is predicted to rise by 2.3% in 2018
what has happened to the rate of deforestation in Brazil between 2015 and 2017?
It has doubled
how large is the Russian economy relative to the rest of the world?
ninth largest
what is Russia dependent on?
Oil and gas exports
Russia’s characteristics:
cultural: slavic languages, 2018 football world cup
demographic: fertility rate of 1.75
environmental: deforestation of taiga and boreal forest
what does the World Bank predict Russia’s economic growth will be between 2018 and 2020?
1.5 to 1.8%
what was Russia’s fertility rate in 2015?
1.75
where in India did BT outsource a lot of its call centres?
Bangalore
how many people died in religion related riots in 2012?
97
what is the expected economic growth rate for India between 2018 and 2020?
7 to 8%
what is the social hierarchy enforced in India called?
the caste system
why are peripheral regions unable to make the maximum profit according to the Dependency Theory?
because the terms of trade are unfavourable and they are stuck exporting raw materials without having secondary or tertiary ‘value-added’ activities
Who developed the World Systems Theory?
Wallerstein
what does Dependency Theory describe?
A vicious cycle or ‘negative feedback loop’
developing countries can’t add value to the products by processing them into goods because they don’t have the infrastructure, expertise or capacity to do this
what does the World System’s theory argue?
that the core and periphery model helps to explain the development gap
in the World System’s theory model, where does the processing and value-add of raw materials take place?
developed nations
the most important 8 nations in the IMF control what percentage of its votes?
47%
what are some key focuses of the IMF?
terrorism
improving the world
corruption
how many of the 164 WTO member are developing nations?
over 3/4
what does SAP stand for?
Structural Adjustment Program
when was the Dutch East India company founded?
1602
cuisine based TNCs spreading Western culture:
mcdonald’s burger king pizza hut subway shake shack
what do TNCs transmit around the world?
know-how
technology
training
cuisine
in 2018 the top three most valuable brands were from what country?
america
multimedia TNCs spreading Western culture:
instagram youtube netflix disney amazon twitter
which British company ran much of India’s global trade in the colonial era?
East India Company
what is a patent?
the company exclusively owns the idea and concept of that product
anyone who uses this technology or process has to pay a royalty to the company who owns the patent
outlines of the US humanitarian actions in Haiti since 2010:
$5.1bil in aid
72,000 children immunised
164 new health clinics
what do alliances increase?
interdependence
the United Nations:
International Court of Justice
Security Council
Peacekeeping missions
Climate Change conferences
what is the ANZUS Treaty?
Australia, New Zealand, US Security set up in 1951
to cooperate on military matter in Pacific and stop spread of communism in region
what is NATO?
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
military alliance formed in 1949 at start of Cold War: underlying principle is that an attack on one is an attack on all
how many peacekeeping missions does the UN have across the globe currently?
14
information about NATO:
a military alliance
formed in 1949
20,000 personnel operating on NATO missions eg. Afghanistan
how much does the EU aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by from 1990 levels before 2020?
20%
which country extracts the most fossil fuel in the world?
China
how much is Russia trying to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by before 2020 (compared to 1990 levels)?
30%
how much has China’s consumption of cereals (raise farm animals) increased by between 2000 and 2018?
364%
what percentage of fake goods in the USA found in 2017 came from China?
88%
which territory in Eastern Europe is disputed between Russia and Ukraine?
Crimea
which countries claim territory in the South China Sea?
Taiwan
Vietnam
China
Malaysia
why are tensions rising between Tibet and China?
china is encouraging migration into Tibet
in 2014, how much was China-Africa trade worth?
$220 billion
what are some african countries that received large investment from china?
egypt, nigeria, algeria, south africa and mozambique
where did japanese troops reportedly kill 50,000-300,000 chinese citizens in the 1930s?
Nanking
which two regions in/near china are sources of geopolitical tensions?
Taiwan and Tibet
which city in the middle east to palestine and israel both claim?
Jerusalem
negative effects linked to economics recessions:
suicide
depression
unemployment
crime
which manufacturing sector drove Detroit before deindustrialisation set in?
automobile manufacturing
which new US military department did Donald Trump announce he would open?
Space force
what happened during the 2007-08 financial crisis?
Banks had lent to people who couldn’t afford their mortgages
Banks were very interconnected and there was contamination
governments bailed out banks like Lloyds and RBS
superpower debt:
household debt
government debt: 85.6% of GDP in UK, 132% of GDP in Italy
corporate debt
why might China rival USA’s hegemony?
population of roughly 1 .4 billion people in 2018
rise of Chinese TNCs eg. Tencent and Alibaba
growing soft power in Africa (resulting from finance and infrastructure)
what scenarios are most likely to emerge by 2050?
USA, China and India in a multipolar world
USA and China in a bipolar world
USA in unipolar world
USA, China and Russia in multipolar world
