Superpowers Flashcards
7.1a What is a superpower?
a country with the ability to projects its dominating power and influence anywhere in the world
7.1a What is an emerging power?
are countries with a large role in one of more superpower characteristics, and with growing influence.
7.1a What is a regional power?
can project dominating power and influence over other countries within the continent or region.
7.1a give an example of a regional power
Saudi Arabia -largest country in Middle East -oil industry - 16% of oil deposits -most highly funded military in the middle east $80bn
7.1a What is a hyper power?
an unchallenged superpower that is dominant in all aspects of power (political, economic, cultural, military)
7.1a What is a diplomacy?
the negotiation and decision-making that takes place between nations as part of international relations, leading to international agreements and treaties
7.1a What are the characteristics of a superpower?
- economic
- political
- military
- cultural
- demographic
- resources
7.1a What is economic power?
– It is essential for power. A large and powerful economy gives nations the wealth to build and maintain a powerful military, exploit natural resources and develop human ones through education.
7.1a What is military power?
– the threat of military action is powerful bargaining chip, also can be used to achieve geopolitical goals. Blue water navy, drone, missile and satellite technology can be deployed globally and reach distant places.
7.1a What is blue water navy?
One which can deploy into the open ocean (large, ocean-going ships) – many countries only have a green water navy designed to patrol littoral water (close to the nations coastline)
7.1a What is political power?
the ability to influence others through diplomacy to get their way is important and is exercised through international organisations such as UN and WTO.
7.1a What are the economic characteristics of a superpower?
- Large GDP, high % of international trade, currency used as reserve currency.
- A large GDP creates influence as a potential market and as the home of TNCs which create FDI.
7.1a What are the political characteristics of a superpower?
•The ability to influence the policies of other countries through the dominance of negotiations. (Both bilaterally and through international organisations.)
-Voting power may be determined by economic contribution, historical role in founding of organisation (UN), population
•Often due to dominance in other characteristics.
oE.g. large economy gives it power in trade talks, military power can make countries a threat - giving them political power
7.1a What are the military characteristics of a superpower?
- Military power with a global reach means they can be used to achieve geopolitical goals
- Global influence through blue water (ocean going) navy and drone, missile and satellite technology
- Indicators of power: army size, defence spending, nuclear weapons, inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), size of blue water navy, being a major arms exporter, presence on/leading international military organisations.
- Dependent on demographic power: the number of military personnel that can be deployed
- Dependent on economic power: budget determines investment in military technology, which increases power
7.1a What are the cultural characteristics of a superpower?
•The ability to influence the beliefs, values, ideology and way of life in other countries.
•Achieved through:
the dominance of media (films, radio, television, internet, education)
-TNCs or migrants introducing cultural products (food, clothing, music, religion)
-imposition of viewpoint in international agreements
-Indicators: global spread of music, fashion, food, language, religion
-Westernisation, Americanisation
7.1a What are the demographic characteristics of a superpower?
- A large population -> a large diaspora and workers at TNCs
- Assists economic power through a large market and economies of scale (so more profit).
- Means army can be larger.
- China has the largest population - 1382 million
7.1a What are the resources characteristics of a superpower?
- Control of access to physical resources: energy, minerals
- Provides inputs for economic growth
- Means they can be exported at a high price -> economic power
- May be internally located or accessed through reliable source countries through transport pathways.
- Essential for military power
7.1a What is the global presence index split into?
Economy, defence and soft presence (culture, media, migration, tourism)
7.1b What is hard power?
represents a coercive approach to international relations and employs the use of military or economic power to achieve certain outcomes.
-The underlying theme of Hard Power is coercion and states use such power to influence weaker states to comply with their will.
7.1b What does hard power include?
- military intervention or protection, economic sanctions, or reduction of trade barriers.
- Display sends strong signal to any disputes
7.1b Advantages of hard power
- fast-acting so results are seen quickly
- gain allies both economic and military
- useful when soft is working
- useful against extremists who are disturbing the general population
- tangible - see what’s going on
7.1b Disadvantages of hard power
- can damage a country’s international image - loss of credibility leads to lack of international cooperation as attitudes of mistrust grows
- invasions, war don’t always go to plan
- no long term benefits
- expensive
- can be risky
- Some may view military action as unnecessary or illegal – so the aggressor may lose allies and moral authority
7.1b Give an example of hard power
USA
- USA organised and led the coalition to expel Iraqi forces that had invaded Kuwait in the First Gulf War (1991)
- Invaded Iraq in the Second Gulf War when economic sanctions (softer power) failed to persuade President Saddam Hussein to change policy (2003)
7.1b What is soft power?
- A persuasive approach to international political relations, involving the use of a nation’s cultural, historical and diplomatic influence.
- Soft Power is the ability of a state to indirectly convince others to desire its goals and vision. This persuasive approach is applied through cultural, historical and/or diplomatic means.
- Enterprise, culture, digital, government, engagement, education
- Sovereign wealth fund
7.1b Advantages of soft power
- forms of soft power include foreign aid, internet connectivity and democracy can influence a country’s international pull
- doesn’t use force - uses attraction to shared values and culture
- Soft power when used well, is low cost because it is about creating alliances and friendly relations and may spread to other countries
7.1b Disadvantages of soft power
- attraction won’t always get you what you want
- takes more time to have an effect than hard power
- using this alone may not persuade another country if they are culturally and ideologically different
- Soft power relies on a country having respected culture, values and
7.1b Give an example of soft power
- Diplomacy - one of the largest networks of diplomats and embassies in the world.
- BBC World Service - more neutral and reliable than many government broadcasters. Worldwide news and programmes.
- Films (Pride and Prejudice), television (Downton Abbey) and literature (Harry Potter)
- City of London (and New York) dominate international finance, banking and law - setting standards and values
7.1b What is smart power?
An approach that underscores the necessity of a strong military, but also invests heavily in alliances, partnerships, and institutions of all levels to expand one’s influence and establish legitimacy of one’s action.
7.1b What did Joseph Nye say about power?
- Made the terms hard and soft power in 1990
- He argues that in the 21st century the most successful countries are those that combine hard and soft power into smart power – carrot stick approach
7.1a Regional power characteristics
- High military, economic, demographic, political and ideological capabilities
- Very large land area and a large population
- Higher per capita income than the regional average
- Higher average growth of GDP and contribute significantly to global and regional growth
- Have more of a differentiated economic structure than other countries in that region – value added of the respective manufacturing industries is higher than the regions average
7.1a Give some examples of regional powers
-China, India, South Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
7.1c What is Mackinder’s Theory?
- 1904 - identified a region of Eurasia that he named the ‘Heartland’
- whoever can controls the heartland will have hegemony
- argued that this was the geo strategic location in the world because control of it commanded a high portion of the worlds physical and human resources
7.1c Shorty explain what geo-strategic location means
how your location in the world can influence your power in the world
7.1c What is the influence of the Heartland theory?
- It persuades the USA, UK, and other European countries that Russia needed to be ‘contained’, i.e. prevented from spreading outward by taking over new areas close by.
- It reinforced the idea that control of physical resources (land, mineral wealth) was important
7.1c Advantages of the heartland theory
- still relevant today in modern geopolitics
- contributes to the policies of containment
7.1c Disadvantages of the heartland theory
-physical isolation in most locations is not an issue due to advancements in technology, communication and transport
7.1c Geostrategic location -USA
- military bases across the world - Allies with countries
- rapid access to everywhere - soft and hard power
7.1c Geostrategic location - China
-setting up bases in East Africa
7.2a Geopolitcal stability
How well governments get on with each other
7.2a When was the imperial era?
- 1500s to 1950
- when the European powers (Spain, Germany, Portugal) conquered land in America, Africa and Asia
7.2a What did the British empire do?
- From 1400s Britain sailed, explored and claimed land as their own - able to build basic sailing ships
- commodities such as cotton, salves, spices were used to set up trading companies in east India
- this generated income and allowed further exploitation
7.2a Industrialisation during British Empire?
- raw materials were brought back to the big shipping areas of Liverpool, London, Bristol which fuelled the industrial revolution
- Brunel created steam and basic power (steam trains and ships) - help form the industrial revolution
- steel producing
7.2a British Empire power
- most countries were taken without force - Britain introduced its legal system, education systems, inventions such as railways, language, sport and culture
- made countries become dependant on the UK by taking all natural resources
- some done by hard power - war and threats
7.2a how did the British empire maintain control?
- Britain highly populated the countries with British military, farmers, administrators
- Britain where ;morally superior’ and had ‘God on their side’
- the argument was that it brought stability and trade
7.2a what is a multipolar world?
a world where several countries have a highly influential role in the world or their world region and link together in world economic and political systems
7.2a what was the end of the British empire?
- after the world war 2, colonies were given up due to having no money and wanting to focus on investment into their own growth
- realisation of the unethical practices
- there were anti-colonial movements and a desire for countries to become independent of their ‘mother country’
7.2b When was there the bi-polar power?
-after the war (1945-1990), between the usa and ussr known as the Cold War era
7.2b the bi - polar power between usa and ussr?
Economic - trade and finance with raw materials and industrialisation
Military - nuclear weapon states
Political - rival global ideologies capitalism vs communism
Cultural - competed for influence using public diplomacy and soft power
wanted to win through attraction as well as coercion
7.2b What actually happened during the Cold War?
- no fighting involved
- just proxy wars
e. g. the Korean War which resulted in the division of Korea - US backed south and USSR backed North
- tense but politically stable
7.2b soft power used by the US during the Cold War
- in order to attract people to US
- International broadcasting - radio liberalisation spreading American message of global capitalism, commerce, trade, freedom
- competed in Olympics for global attention
7.2b How did USA use hard power during the Cold War?
- invested in hard military technology - sea, sky and intercontinentally - intercontinental ballistic missiles
- It is able to back itself up on a global stage with military hardware and technology
e. g. Great White Fleet tour around the world
7.2b how does the us use strategic power?
- Project military command over the whole globe
- Project themselves and strategies internationally
7.2b Who were the US and USSR backed by?
US - NATO
USSR - Warsaw Pact
-both acquired allies in order to internationalise their capacities
7.2b What was the non-aligned movement?
- Countries that joined together to reject capitalism and communism
- Post-colonial states came together and didn’t want to be aligned to either superpowers
- India, Ghana, Egypt, Indonesia, Yugoslavia
7.b Where did USA show its weaknesses?
- 9/11 -No matter how powerful a country it is – borders are not always inviolable
- Highly motivated terrorist organisation was able to puncture this
- corona - Disease has undermined the reputation of the US as a superpower – in terms of public health planning and healthcare
- Losing its world status due to failure of controlling covid
7.2b Why did the Cold War end?
- countries in Eastern Europe didn’t agree with USSR communist ideologies - they gained an increased awareness of westernisation due to globalisation
- negotiations to end the war
- Eastern Europe left -USSR land mass decreased - less natural resource, less money, less power
7.2b What is Neo-colonialism?
The ability to influence other countries that are less dominant
7.2b What are the methods of Neo-colonisalism?
- aid
- military support
- terms of trade
- TNC investments
- Money lending
7.2b Neo-colonialism - aid
- The IMF and the World Bank were set ip to provide aid in the form of ‘structural adjustment’ programs to ensure countries reformed their policies to be pro-western
- much aid is given as ‘tied aid’
- giving aid but also trying to maintain control
7.6a What are the superpower resource demands?
- food
- fossil fuels
- minerals
7.6a Carbon emission trends
- US and China are the largest emitters - heavy manufacturing release this
- Russia’s emissions are decreasing - smaller population and due to a recession
7.6a Industrial water use trends
- USA largest export is agriculture products - this requires lots of water through irrigation
- Japan - hydroponic farming in water
7.6a Meat consumption trends
- Brazil large - lots of cattle farming
- Europe are huge consumers of meat
7.6a Ecological footprint trends
-India - large footprint due to large population
7.6a Forest loss trends
-mostly in developing countries in South America and Africa
7.6a How does climate change impact income poverty?
- impacts the supply and accessibility to energy and water
- Income poverty due to civil unrest due to conflicts of water use from water scarcity
- leads to people not able to work due to poor health and lack of clean water
7.6a How does climate change impact food insecurity and political instability?
- temperature rise leads to little precipitation and drought
- therefore, vegetation dies which leads to lack of nutrients in the soil
- the top soil is blown away which has all the nutrients
- animals die as they have no fodder
- leading to food insecurity
- farmers have lower income leading to fewer people in developing countries earning an income
- political instability
7.6a What are the three UN climate change conferences?
- Kyoto 1997
- Paris 2015
- Marrakesh 2016
7.6a Kyoto 1997
- first time countries agreed to cut greenhouse gases over a 5 year period
- EU 8%, USA 7%, Russia by 0%
7.6a Paris 2015
- to keep local temps below 2 degrees
- limit emissions to what can be naturally absorbed
- rich countries to financially support developing countries to use renewable resources
- 200 countries - USA pulled out when Trump took control (MAGA - aim was to re-nationalise industry, increase manufacturing, leading to high emissions)
- china and Russia had agreed
7.6a Marrakesh 2016
- focussed on the least developed countries committing to using renewable energy and agreeing funding from developed countries
- protection of valuable resources were also agreed
7.6b USA’s willingness to change
- reducing carbon emissions would cost energy companies and harm the economy
- Trump was in favour of MAGA by increasing manufacturing which will increase emissions
- between 2002-2005 US wind power tripled in output and solar energy x10
7.6b Russia’s willingness to change
- its heavily investing in nanotechnology, energy efficiency and laws
- In 1990, they agreed reduce its emissions by 30%, its reduced them now by 35% 0 due to economic crash
- as Russia stabilises, its economy and industry will grow = increase in emissions
7.6b China’s willingness to change
- china has been concerned about how cutting emissions would impact their manufacturing industries and their economy
- In 2016, agreed to cut its emissions and now heavily invests into renewable energy
- concerned for its reputation and global image by making this change, it will become more influential
7.6b EU’s willingness to change
- leaders in carbon reducing initiatives and leading talks
- provide large grants for companies to use, convert to or invest in renewable energy sources
- The CAP protected European farmers from imports which resulting in intensive farming methods that were extremely harmful to the environment
7.6b China’s change - before
- the environmental cost for China’s rapid economic growth from 1990 was very high
- 90% of grasslands and 40% of wetlands suffering significant degradation
- air, water and land pollution - losing numerous valuable services they provide
7.6b China’s change - now
- china is now an emerging environmental leader
- Beijing’s air pollution was cleaned up for 2008 Olympics
- largest investor in renewable energy - in 2015 they spent $105bn which was double than the USA
- In 2020, they committed $367bn for sustainable development that is supposed to provide 13 million jobs
- exporting its expertise in renewable energy and supporting technologies
- In 2016, China invested tens of billions in renewable energy projects in Australia, Germany and Brazil
7.6c Malthus’ Theory
- demand will increase until an event (war, conflict) will wipe out a good bit of the population
- If population increases too quickly, pop may exceed supply - Malthusian crisis
- contribution to society is important so if not helpful need to go
- this was to help natural population control
7.6c Boserup’s Theory
- as population increases, education, innovation will increase with it leading to new technologies that will provide for the demand
- as people moves out of poverty into the middle class - more demand for products which uses more water and energy
- as middle class grows, the pressure on the environment increases
- lag time between government increasing trade and globalisation and the growth fo the middle class
7.6c Staple grain - environment
- Soil degradation
- Chemical runoff excess fertiliser resulting in eutrophication
7.6c staple grain - price
- Land once used for staple food grains will be converted to produce meat and dairy products
- Without new land, prices could rise, affecting the poorest
7.6c staple grain - availability
- Rice consumption has stabilised in India
- Consumption increased by 50% in sub-Saharan Africa
- Consumption is grown steadily in USA and Europe because immigration and increasing awareness of value of a fibre-based diet
7.6c Water - environment
- Industrialising countries (developing and emerging) overuse water available
- Climate change will make diminishing water sources worse – from glaciers melting due to higher temperatures.
- Drought affects food production
7.6c Water -price
- California is the most important place for growth of nuts and fruit – consumer demand for these are increasing as healthy diets are more priority
- This increases agribusinesses to extract more water to increase yields
7.6c Water - availability
-Californian farmers are using more groundwater, but the water table is dropping, and grand subsidence is occurring
7.6c rare earth - environment
- Emerging countries have increase demand for high-tech goods which depend on rare earth
- Lots of water, acid and electricity is used in the extraction process to separate ores from toxins in rare earths
- Processing one tonne of rare earths produce 2000 tonnes of toxic waste and if this waste mixes with surface water or groundwater – environmental impact
- China produces 85% of the global rare earths
- Wastewater is pumped into contaminant ponds where It seeps into groundwater and then drinking water sources
7.6c rare earth price
- In recent years, China has restricted the refining and exports of these products (rare earths) in order to keep their price high
- This then impacted more mining to start in other countries because the higher price makes it economic to do so
- Rare earths are used in LCD screens and numerous hi-etch gadgets which could cause the price to increase
- Basic materials such as copper, tin and platinum are at risk of supply shortages which will cause dramatic price changes
7.6c oil environment
-Pressure has been put on the remote areas (Arctic Ocean) for oil exploitation
7.6c oil price
- There has been an increase in demand due to growing population and economic growth
- Meeting this demand may lead to price rises or supply shortages
7.6c oil availability
-Countries who have their own supplies (Russia and Brazil) are likely to be in a stronger position than those relying on imports (India)
7.2b Neo-colonialism - military support
- developing nations often rely on superpowers for military backing during times of civil war and uprising, or they need them to buy weapons from
- UK sell military weapons to Saudi Arabia
7.2b Neo-colonialism - Term of trade
- make countries reliant on the country - have to keep the relationship
- Frank’s dependancy theory
- low value cash crops vs high value processes goods means that LEDC’s are more reliant on MEDC’s for trade
7.2b Neo-colonialism - TNC investments
- cultural diffusion and westernisation have been taken place
- many developing nations are reliant on TNC’s to provide investment and jobs
- TNC’s set up, become reliant, TNC’s gain more control, country doesn’t develop any of their own industries, TNC’s leave, country is left with a lack of development
- TNC’s bring status and a good reputation of the location
e. g. Rajastan, India - Coca Cola
7.2b Neo-colonialism - Money lending
- developing countries often borrow money from developed ones and end up in debtor-creditor relationships
- UK give money to India (commonwealth)
- India spend billions on space but have bn of people living in poverty
- UK countries to provide funding to commonwealth countries giving it moral authority
7.3a What is an emerging nation?
Nations or countries that have rapidly increased their influence and economic position in the world
7.3a Features of emerging nation
- drivers of global economic growth
- domestic markets are huge investments
- trade and political relationship with emerging nations
- governments are open to investment and globalisation
7.3a Rapid growth characteristics
- large workforce
- geo-strategic location
- room to diversify industries
7.3a Covid impacts on emerging nations
- consumer spending less - cutting back on consumables - demand for products have fallen
- oil production and demand fell
- imports and exports came to a stop
- lack of tourism in emerging countries
7.3a What is the G20?
- top economies that meet together to discuss the Asian economy crisis in 1997
- has a considerable political influence
- now more governments and financial ministers represent the country in meetings
- sign of power and status
- soft, smart power and having allies
7.3a Conflicts with the G20?
- favours making profit and economic growth
- contributes to social inequality
- doesn’t include all countries - doesn’t always benefit everyone
7.3b Brazil - political pros and cons
+stable government
+regional leader in Latin America
-hesitates to use its soft power through aid
7.3b Brazil -economic pros and cons
+current economy is improving, can invest more into military and infrastructure
+strong agricultural economy and exporter
+growing middle class and maturing consumer economy
-left leading priminister is increasing taxes to revive economy
-education levels lag behind competitors
7.3b Brazil - military pros and cons
- Only BRIC nations that doesn’t have any nuclear weapons
- small military with only regional intervention capacity
7.3b Brazil - demographic pros and cons
+the Portuguese language is universal
-problems with education system
7.3b Brazil - environmental pros and cons
+doesn’t rely on other regions due to no conflicts in region
-needs to control the destruction of its forests
7.3b Brazil - cultural pros and cons
+culture is appreciated across the world
+culturally influential in 2012 World Cup and 2016 olympics
7.3b Russia - political pros and cons
+government well-liked with the people of Russia
+permanent seat on the UN Security Council
-Difficult diplomatic and geopolitical relationships with the EU and USA
7.3b Russia -economic pros and cons
+huge oil and gas reserves are a source of wealth
- extreme levels of inequality
- economy is heavily dependant on oil and gas
- few TNC’s so rely on small businesses
7.3b Russia - military pros and cons
+a nuclear power with very large military capacity
+large military and powerful
-don’t invest in modern warfare
7.3b Russia - demographic pros and cons
+stable population growth
-an ageing and declining population, is also unhealthy
7.3b Russia - environmental pros and cons
-50% of all water in Russia is polluted
7.3b Culturally - environmental pros and cons
-low bran recognition
7.3b India - political pros and cons
- poor political relations with its neighbours especially in Pakistan
- large amounts of corruption - ranks 81/180 most corrupt
7.3b India - economic pros and cons
+expected to be 1 of top 3 powers in the world in the next 10 years
- possible future resource shortages in water and energy
- poor transport and energy infrastructure
- very high levels of poverty
7.3b India - military pros and cons
+nuclear armed, and has sophisticates space and missile technology
-small military compared to other powers
7.3b India - demographic pros and cons
+youthful population with large economic potential
+50% of pop under 30
7.3b India - Environmental pros and cons
+solar power and renewable energy technologies
-air pollution has increased poverty
7.3b India - culturally pros and cons
+English is widely spoken and graduate education is widespread
+bollywood is influential
7.3b China - political pros and cons
+largest contributor to UN peacekeeping missions
- regional influence limited by Russian power
- tense relationships with its neighbours in south East Asia
- plays a limited geopolitical role - not yet a leader on a global stage
7.3b China - economic pros and cons
+highly educated, technically innovative population
+soon to be the worlds largest economy and leads in fields such as renewable energy
+modern infrastructure in terms of transport
+Trumps ‘america first’ gave it a free pass of open borders and free trade
-too dependant on exports and relies on imported of raw materials
-rising wages makes its economy increasingly high cost for TNC’s
7.3b China - military pros and cons
+increasing agreements to have military bases globally
+military technology and reach is growing and challenging the USA
-few formal allies within Asia
7.3b China - demographic pros and cons
+large population = large workforce
-will soon have problems with ageing population
7.3b China - environmental pros and cons
+large investments in renewable energy
- rapid deterioration of soil and water
- major pollution issues in terms of air
7.3b China - culturally pros and cons
+sends tourists and students abroad to promote culture
-lacks online presence - makes it difficult to spread culture no social media access
7.3c What is Rostow’s Model?
this is the modernisation theory to shows how some nations become wealthy and powerful
-in 1960, Rostow outlined that a theory that argued that countries develop in 5 stages
7.3c What are the features of the traditional society? -Rostow’s model
- based on subsidence farming
- no infrastructure
- unstable governments
- primary sector jobs
- no geopolitical relationships
- weak/volatile currency
- IGO’s
7.3c How does a country move from The traditional society to pre conditions?
- stable government needed
- rely on bottom up strategies by charities
- Investment needs to be encouraged
7.3c What are the features of pre-conditions take off? -Rostow’s model
- building infrastructure
- don’t have fdi
- government need to use soft power
- focus on education for secondary jobs in manufacturing
7.3c What is preventing a country from moving out of pre-conditions take off? -Rostow’s model
- no global trade
- no TNC’s
7.3c What are the features of take off? -Rostow’s model
- introduction to rapid growth of manufacturing industries
- might encourage tourism
- not exporting high-value goods
- no good human rights
- need education - to innovate and make high value products - earning more money - middle class will grow
7.3c What are the features of the drive to maturity? -Rostow’s model
-new ideas and technology improve and replace older industries, economic growth spreads throughout their country
7.3c What are the features of high mass consumption? -Rostow’s model
- need to improve inequality
- human rights improved
- democratic governments
- growth of middle class
- trade expands
7.3c What is an import substitution economy?
- not reliant on anyone else
- self sufficient - autarkic
- substituted imports for products they can make themselves
7.3c What is an export-led economy?
- based more on exports
- manufactured excess goods to export
7.3c Pros and cons of rostows model
+gives possibility for every country to grow if it had right conditions
-doesn’t take into account :
geopolitical relationships, economic recessions, inequalities, unstable governments
7.3c What is the Kondraitiev cycle? - what does it say?
- shows the economy through time
- makes predictions about the future
- global economy will always be volatile
- education and human resources are important
- innovation is key for rebuilding the economy
7.3c What is frank’s dependancy model?
- core and peripheral countries
- peripheral gives raw materials, workforce to core
- core give manufactured goods, aid and polluting industries
- core take raw materials and add value by manufacturing them
7.3c How is Frank’s dependancy theory relevant to superpower status?
- superpowers that control developing nations are gaining economic wealth and power by exploiting them
- keeping these countries underdeveloped reduces the number of potential emerging powers
- wealthy local elites, who own exporting/importing businesses and have political connections, benefit from the dependancy relationships because they control the limited trade in goods and services but the wider population does not benefit
7.3c Pros of the dependancy theory
- shows the burden of aid
- simple
- still relevant today with 3 types of countries in development stages
- acknowledges politics and importance of allies
7.3c Cons of dependancy theory
- can be too simple
- doesn’t acknowledge mass migration
- only acknowledges primary and secondary jobs
- suggests that countries are permanently stuck in an underdeveloped state
7.3c What is the world-systems theory - Wallerstein?
- 3 co-dependancies
- all free flowing
- implies migration and a greater flow of people
- high consumption goods flow
- core countries use semi-periphery countries as cheap locations to manufacture goods
- core countries get large returns on the fdi in semi-periphery countries
7.4a What does the World Bank do?
-makes development loans to developing countries but within a free market model that promotes exports, trade, industrialisation and private businesses which benefits large developed world tics
7.4a What does the IMF do?
- promotes global economic security and stability and assists countries to reform their economies
- economic reforms often mean more open access to developing economies for TNC’s
7.4a What does the WEF do?
- a non profit organisation that promotes globalisation and free trade via its annual meeting in Davos, which brings together the global business and political elite
7.4b What is a state-led TNC?
-Companies that are owned by the government
7.4b What are public TNC’s?
whose shares are owned bu multiple shareholders - on the stock market
7.4b How do state led TNC’s project power?
- dominance in industry
- hard power
- can make more profit - monopolises the market so it has no competition
- usually utility companies that everyone needs
7.4b How do public TNC’s project power?
- soft power
- Westernisation
7.4b What are unicorns?
- a unicorn is a startup company value at over $1bn
- large TNC’s
7.4b What has cause the dominance of TNC’s in the global economy?
- economies of scale - they can outcompete smaller companies
- Their bank balances and ability to borrow money to invest has allowed them to take advantage of globalisation by investing in new technology
- the move towards free market capitalism and free trade has opened up new markets, allowing them to expand
7.4b How are TNC’s important players in geopolitics?
- the size, global reach and wealth make them important in maintaining power and wealth
- they are economic entities but their influence on prosperity gives them political as well as economic leverage
- governments compete to attract them through tax breaks
7.4b Why has there been an increase in TNC’s in 2014?
- improve innovation
- domestic markets growing
- social media exploded - marketing changed, access to global market
7.4b What is the Fortune 500 companies?
- biggest companies in the USA
- brand presence to exert soft power
7.4b What is the global 500?
- biggest TNC’s in the world
- 3 Chinese state owned TNC’s in top 10
7.4b Saudi Aramaco power
- most valuable company in the world
- owns 20% of petroleum - controls prices and flows
- state led by a corrupt government
7.4b How does state owned TNC’s relate to power?
Through state owned TNC’s the government are keeping power which shows the communist views of it
- investments into long-term development of their own country
- neocolonialism and sovereign wealth funds
7.4b What does Brand value/ brand equity mean?
the value of a brand measuring using metics such as market share, customer opinion of the brand and brand loyalty
7.4b Characteristics of the culture of westernisation
- a culture of consumerism
- a culture of capitalism and the importance of attaining wealth
7.4b McDonalds - westernisation
- 36,000 restaurants
- serve 65 million a day
- glocalisation of products into new cultures
7.4b What is the process that occurs as western culture reaches new areas?
local adaptado (glocalisaiton) or hybridisation occurs as western culture reaches new areas
7.4b How does the US influence through media?
- gives the USA the ability to constantly reinforce its cultural messages and values
- Many IT companies and even retailers have branched out to become content providers in recent years
- Google and Apple use cultural content which is often western - making IT and communications technology a very powerful delivery system
7.4b The rise of TNC’s
- been around since the 18th-19th century
- rapid increase in 1960s from globalisation
- global supply chains - providing jobs directly and indirectly
7.4c What is included in trade with TNC’s?
- commodities and knowledge
- TNC’s invest lots of money into research and development
7.4b Features of centrally planned economy
- government ownership of property and land
- most businesses state owned and wages determined centrally
- profits taken by the government and used to provide public services
- prices controlled by the government which also controls the supply of goods and services
7.4c What does the domination of global royalties reflect?
- existing superpowers and developed countries are paid for inventories and artistic works they created decades ago
- Developed world TNC’s are in the best position to invest in R+D, so patent holders tend to also be new patent developers
- education is higher in developed countries
- westernisation and cultural globalisation tend to spread US and European music, film and TV and brands
7.4c Patents on global pharmaceuticals
- most patents are help by American or European countries making medication expensive
- little investment in treatment for diseases in developing country due ti little profit
- developed country TNC’s have monopolised this market so can make high prices
- many developing countries can’t afford this
- some developing competitors end up making ineffective medication instead
7.4c Patents on GM crops
- most controlled by TNC’s
- under patent laws they own every crop produced by their seeds
- farmers are forces to sign contracts to either agree to use certain TNC owned fertilisers or to not plant from seed the following year
- GM engineers can prevent their sees from germinating so every new year new seeds need to be bought
7.4c What do patent laws cause?
they create an incentive for research and development which therefore allows for innovation of technology, pharmaceuticals
-use patience funding to fund r+d for innovation
7.5a What is the UN security council?
the primary global mechanism for maintaining international peace and security
-5 permanent members and 10 rotating non permanent
7.5a How does the security council maintain international law?
- Applying sanctions to countries that are deemed to be a security risk, harbouring terrorism, threatening or invading another state or breaching human rights
- Authorising the use of military force against the country
- authorising a UN peacekeeping force, troops occupy a country or region under the UN flag to keep the peace in a conflict but new do not take sides
7.5a Negatives of UN security council
- Anyone of the five permanent members can veto a decision, preventing it happening
- The USA, UK and France tend to vote as one, as do Russia and China, leading to deadlock
- The Security Council has been accused of passing resolutions condemning a countries actions but then failing to act to prevent these
- huge network - communication wont be good
- everyone has different political ideologies
- relations and diplomacy are more important than votes
7.5a When was the security council opened?
in 1945, Roosevelt proposed a council called the four policemen his vision was for the USA, UK, Russia and China would be responsible for maintaining global peace
7.5a What does the security council do?
step one - special envoys , mediation fact finding missions
Step 2 - if things become hostile, issue ceasefire directives, deploy peacekeeping troops and military observes
Step 3 - enforcement measures: economic sanctions, arms embargoes , financial penalties and restrictions and travel bans
7.5a How has the USA intervened militarily in forge in countries?
- as a part of a UN security council action
- together with allied countries as a coalition but outside a UN remit
- unilaterally, with no support from other countries
7.5b Military NATO Aims
- To provide collective security (in 1949 against Soviet Union) but now in general (collective defence)
- This allows for global security for these member countries, which means that the safety of these countries are guaranteed so therefore this mitigates against any conflict.
- Helps to manage crisis situations
- This means that through aid and economic help, member countries are able to contribute to development and poverty issues that are caused by conflict in other countries.
7.5b Economic NAFTA aims
- Encourage economic activity between North America’s biggest economies
- Allows for dependences to be created where all countries are economically benefitting therefore producing stability in Northern America.
- The aim was to eliminate trade barriers between countries
- This means that the movement of people and trade would be easier, which means that businesses and people were able to achieve a better income and standard of living therefore increasing the stability within these countries.
7.5b Climate change UN aims
- Updates on climate change, to keep countries aware
- This means that countries are able to be aware of the changes which means that the independent governments are able to make decisions about changes within its own country.
- Allows for decisions to be made globally
- This means that as a global community, decisions and agreements are made to meet targets and increase sustainability schemes globally which means that all governments are able to vote in these decisions increasing global stability.
7.5b UN peacekeeping missions
- Helping countries that are war torn to reach peace
- This means that the UN act as a mediator to research and stop conflicts which means that there is a reduction in risk of minor conflicts in getting more serious allowing for more global stability.
- To encourage and assist with international peace and security
- This means that through having troops around the world, the UN have a global presence which means that if there were to be any sudden conflict that arose, UN troops would be able to prevent this from escalating, encouraging global stability.
7.5b ipCC
- Gives countries regular information
- Gives options to mitigate the impacts of climate change
- 195 countries are members
- Some powerful countries (USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia) don’t want to use the IPCC findings
- Provide governments with regular scientific assessments on climate change
7.5c How has the UN grown?
1945 - first meeting of the UN -promote social progress -human rights, prevents war 1960s - UN membership doubled struggled to make a difference due to globalisation - movement of people and media made people become more aware - UN had more things to deal with and this led to growth in departments
7.5c UN international courts of justice
- Promote social progress and justice
- Global community – helps to ensure that there is a strong sense of international justice
- Extra layer to protect civilians from their own government – helps to prevent civil war
7.5c UN climate change conferences
- Keeps countries aware and what future predictions are
- Allows for decisions to be made globally
- Natural disasters and more intense weather conditions - can lead to civil war or civil unrest
7.5c UN peacekeeping missions
-It is a unique global partnership between the security council, general assembly, troops and police and the host governments to maintain international peace and security
7.5c What does the UN do and why is it important?
- They help countries keep peace within their countries as well as helping war torn countries to become peaceful again
- They have troops and police that they can deploy if needed
- Facilitate political processes, protect civilians, promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of law
- This allows for the global presence of the UN, to encourage and assist with peace in many developing countries
- Ceasefire to act like a mediator – research and prevent conflicts from escalating
7.6a What ares one of the issues caused by high resource consumption of superpowers and emerging powers?
- urban air quality is low in emerging power cities due to coal during - dramatic use in car use - health implications air quality in Shanghai.
- demand for fossil fuel, mineral and food imports plus manufactured goods exports, accounts for most of the worlds carbon emissions from shipping
- deforestation and land degredation are issues in some emerging powers as they seek to convert more land into farmland, continue to urbanise, increase demand for water and increase the use of chemicals in farming to increase yields
7.6a Why are there different actions and attitudes towards the environment?
- economic growth and personal development are prioritised by governments over environmental issues in some countries
- high income countries can more easily afford renewable and alternative technologies to reduce emissions
- compact, high density countries may find it easier to develop affordable public transport as a n alternative to car use
7.7a Why are some resources contested?
- the land border between two countries is in dispute, such as the border between India and Pakistan
- the ownership of a landmass is in dispute (Falklands with Argentines and UK)
- the extent of a nations offshore exclusive economic zone is in dispute or claimed by another nation
7.7a Exclusive economic zone
-the area of ocean extending 200 nautical miles beyond the coastline, over which a nation controls the sea and sub-sea resources.
7.7a What are the attitudes to resources?
- tensions will increase if must have attitude is taken by TNC’s and governments
- if players invest into renewable energy or priorities conservation over resource exploitation - tensions are likely to reduce
7.7a Recent developments of contested land
- UN convention on the law of sea states that anyone can claim land that is 200 nautical miles from the coastline
- Arctic exclusive economic zones overlap here so there are multiple countries are laying claim to the seabed and resources
- in 2007, a Russian sub staled under the North Pole and planted a Russian flag on the sea bed to claim it as there own
7.7a Environmental importance of The Arctic
- important for the cooling of the Earth by albedo
- Absorbing excess heat from the lower latitudes by convection
- The permafrost and ocean sediments are large sinks of carbon dioxide and methane
- Melting of this will be major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions
- Important for the migration of species
- Habitat for rare species – these are at risk of extinction
- The Artic ocean is a mix of freshwater and ocean water that influences ocean currents around the globe
- Too much freshwater could switch off some of the sea currents
- Warming will increase forest fires = increase invasive species (pine beetles)
- Isolation and environmental challenges have created selection pressures and specialisation
7.7a Economic importance of The Arctic
- It holds about 22% of the world’s undiscovered hydro-carbon resources
- Shell and other large oil companies are competing for drilling licenses
- Estimated that in 2040 it will be an important trade route from Europe to Asia
- Route is 40% shorter than the Panama Canal route
- Ocean is much deeper – cargo ships can carry more
- Cheaper and yield less greenhouse gas emissions
- Tourism is increasing as the Artic becomes more accessible
- This will bring higher likelihood of pollution and the effects of mineral extraction
7.7a Political importance of The Arctic
- Denmark, USA, Canada, Norway, Russia
- Continental shelf claims overlap
- USA artic resource = $8 trillion whereas Russia = $22 trillion
- Mineral extraction rights and fishing rights have created geopolitical tensions
- 6 countries carrying out high levels of military patrols in the region = ‘sabre rattling’
7.7a 3 possible approaches to the arctic
- business as usual
- arctic framework
- arctic global sanctuary
7.7a Business as usual
- Individual territorial areas are managed by the respective countries
- Countries set up and manage national parks
- No framework set up for cooperation in the Arctic
- Players work independently
7.7a Business as usual - evaluation
- Market oriented, free trade approach
- Relies on democracy and global co-operation
- Relies on assumptions that there will be political co-operation, economic growth and avoidance of conflicts
7.7a Arctic framework
- 1966 Ottawa Declaration – involves 8 countries
- Just a forum but may become a treaty-based with regulatory powers
- Includes management of fisheries and biodiversity
- More of a proactive approach
7.7a Arctic framework - evaluation
-Assumes that co-operation between countries will be possible and will acknowledge as benefitting all
7.7a Arctic global sanctuary
- Similar to the International Antarctic Treaty in the southern hemisphere
- The AGS (scientists) would create a Biosphere Reserve as suggests by the Greenpeace at the 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit
- This would leave the area untouched
- This was not created like the Antarctica because the Arctic was populated, bordered with powerful land and resource exploitation was already well underway at the end of the 19th century
7.7a Arctic global sanctuary - Evaluation
- May not be realistic to implement in this region that is heavily developed, populated and industrialised already
- Humans had a presence in the Arctic for thousands of years (unlike Antarctica – only visited first in 1820s)
- Indigenous groups and more recent colonial powers have already developed and exploited the Arctic for its resources and population pressure – region is home to 4 million
Main issues with the plans for the arctic
- The effect of climate change will have on it
- The ecological importance of this wilderness region
- Insufficient research to allow risky activities such as the expansion of fisheries
- Territorial disputes
Benefits of climate change on the arctic
- Opening up for shipping routes from Pacific to Atlantic Oceans will benefit commerce and local economies
- Enhanced opportunities in tourism
- More boreal forest due to changes in species – expand forests for timber production or carbon sink
Costs of climate change on the Arctic
- Pollution threat – Oil spills
- Effects on climate change regulation – melting ice and reduction in albedo
- Impact on indigenous tribes – environmental refugees
Counterfeiting problems
- counterfeiting supports organised gangs and the back market
- fake branding is illegal under WTO rules
What does WIPO do ?
World intellectual property organisation
- aims to ensure that innovation and ideas can’t be stolen
- protect tnc’s - if spending million on product development and ideas being copied - discourages innovation
China’s counterfeiting
- can be dangerous due to their technology being cheap
- uses cyber hacking to steal innovation ideas from the US
- TNC’s are reluctant to set up or invest in China as their profits are likely to be reduced
- Chinese government don’t act on counterfeiting, can be taken as a sign that they will ignore other international laws
7.7c What is a sphere of influence?
a physical region over which a country believes it has economic, military, cultural or political rights.
- often they extend beyond the borders of a country and represents a region where the country believes it has a right to influence the policies of other countries
- exerting power outside of borders
- some locations have contested spheres of influence
What happened in the 2010 election in Ukraine to enter the EU?
- Deciding whether to join EU or go to Russia
- Split between country to what they want – Western part wants EU, eastern wants Russia
- President (good relationship with Putin) – highly corrupt and human rights issues stopped joining of NATO – caused lots of protests from young people – armed fights between people and armed police
- President got overthrown and went to Russia
- Interim government put in place
What happened to Crimea?
- Its Russian influence is very high
- New president overthrows old president and gets Russian’s in
- Russian troops get rid of Ukrainian troops through hard power
- Alters between Russia and Ukraine ownership
- Putin held a referendum in Crimea – this was seen as a violation of international law
- Local people voted to remain Russian – very corrupt vote, not a legal vote
What was the civil war in Ukraine about?
- Two eastern regions wanted to join Russian
- Russian backed rebels and funded them – using troops
- Many people died until major European leaders met and called a ceasefire
Why is the Ukraine an important place for the EU or Russia’s sphere of influence?
Russia would have access to:
- Europe market
- Trade agreements
- Natural resources
- Exports could go through Ukraine – more access to Asian markets
- Buffer zone between Russia and Europe - east meets west
- Major oil pipe flows through Ukraine
What was Nato trying to do with influence of Ukraine?
trying to push further east so Ukraine would be an important destination for geopolitical presence – Russia is against this
- due to the differences in ideologies of democracy and freedom and dint want cultural change in Russia
Why did Russia take over Crimea?
- Russia has used Ukraine as a clear sign of their hard power – took over Crimea
- US and NATO didn’t see this as a threat
- Trying to land grab as a way to expand its sphere of influence
Examples of contested spheres of influence
- Nuclear armed Pakistan and India have a long running territorial dispute over the ownership of Kashmir
- This is further complicated by the Chinese occupation of a nearby area called Askai Chin, which is also claimed by India
- Japan and Russia both claim ownership of the Kuril Islands which are currently under Russian control
Why do disputes over sphere of influence occur?
- The balance of power changes such as when Pakistan tested a nuclear weapon in 1998, putting it on par with India in terms of military capability
- Disputed territories are visited by high-level officials, such as when then Russian President Medvedev visited the Kuril Islands in 2010 which incensed Japan
- Military ‘sabre rattling’ occurs such as flying jets or sailing naval vessels close to a disputed territory – this occurs in the SCS by both China and USA
- New resources are discovered or suspected, such as the possibility of oil in waters off the Falkland Islands, governed by the UK but claimed by Argentina
SCS - what is the 9-dash line?
- This relates to the sea and the territory collectively as the South China Sea islands.
- Before 1952, it was known as the 11-dash line (1947) however Mao gave up China’s claims over the Gulf of Tonkin due to the communist camaraderie with Vietnam.
- Many argue that the islands are small and unsignificant with little history and few people living there – therefore China lacks proof of historical dominance over this area.
Why are their contested disputes over the SCS?
- Mostly due to territorial disputes and sovereignty disputes over the ocean areas
- Disputes over rocky outcrop, atolls, sandbanks and reefs (Scarborough Shoal)
- It also has oil reserves of at least 7 billion barrels and an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – good economic opportunities for smaller nations like Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam
- China’s main maritime trading route to get to the western world – If this is blocked, they will suffer great economic loss.
- Busiest shipping routes – almost 50% of all ships
What happened in the SCS between 1947-1992?
1947 – The Republic of China publishes the first map including the 9-dash line which loops around almost the whole of the South China Sea – it claims water next to Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
1974 – Chinese forces occupy the western portion of the Paracel Islands (located in SCS) by planting flags and seizing groups of Vietnamese troops. China builds a military base including an airfield and artificial harbour on the largest Paracel island.
1982 – UNCLOS was formed – it created controls over nations continental shelves. It didn’t address the sovereignty issues of the SCS and hasn’t helped resolve any border disputes here.
1988 – Chinese navy sinks 3 Vietnamese Ships – most serious confrontation in the SCS. Beijing was using more assertive power to establish a physical presence – this comes at a time when China is relying on trade and maritime resources.
1992 – China lays claim to the entire South China Sea based on its historical right to the area. This was done for China to obtain more maritime security for itself. Beijing was the most active places at UNCLOS in attempting to block the US and Soviet Union’s efforts to secure freedom of navigation for warships.
What happens in the SCS between 2009-2012?
2009 – Malaysia and Vietnam submit UN claims to extend their nautical continental shelves – this increases the friction over the maritime sovereignty in the SCS.
2010 – China becomes the second largest consumer and net importer of oil, heightening the strategic importance of trade routes in the East and South China seas for tanker shipments.
2011 – US announces the change of its strategic attention to the Asia-Pacific – new troop and equipment deployments here.
2012 – China had a leadership transition – changing the military strategy shift from land-based power to maritime
China extends its unified coast guard with more concentrated capabilities in order to match Japan’s Coast Guard, the largest in the world.
What happens between 2013-2020 in the SCS?
2013 – As maritime threats from China increase, Japan considers selling military equipment to push to raise its influence in the region. It announced that it will provide the Philippines with patrol boats to boost the country’s capabilities in the SCS and counter China’s growing presence in the region.
2015 – US navy patrol sails within 12 nautical miles to Chinese artificial island to assert freedom of navigation.
2018 – US and Chinese warships nearly collide – US was doing its routinely freedom of navigation operation. China condemns the US patrol as a threat to its sovereignty.
Why are Vietnam and China tense?
– in 1979 there was a war between them as Vietnam invaded Cambodia, tensions were high anyway due to Vietnam taking the side of the Soviet Union in the cold war when China had aided Vietnam when battling France and the US previously. – this was the start of the border disputes between Beijing and Hanoi.
How is Japan involved with SCS?
in 2012 they bought 5 Senkaku islands in the SCS which provoked China.
How is Malaysia involved with SCS?
they submitted a claim to the UN, wanting to lay claim to extending its continental shelf which created tensions around the SCS.
How is the Philippines involved with SCS?
they have had many soft power stand-offs with China in order to show sovereignty over the SCS. It has a pact with the USA, which can be dangerous for China as the US is extending its geopolitical reach. Going against the 9-dash line and says it’s not legally binding.
How is the UN involved with the SCS?
Countries around the SCS have gone to the UN, laying claim to parts of the sea. However, this has created more tensions and there has been no real finality in the conflict around the SCS.
How does SCS relate to soft power?
– Chinese passports display a map with the 9-dash line through the South China Sea – This is a maximalist claim to sovereignty and control over all the features within the area of the 9-dash line.
How does SCS relate to hard power?
there have been many conflicts within the SCS, some of these include sinking of fishing boats, aiming weapons at boats, collision of boats. These can all signify coercion and attempts to scare opponents in order for China to get what it wants.
How does SCS relate to smart power?
The US do their routinely freedom of navigation operation around the seas in order to show its presence around China.
How does SCS relate to geopolitical reach?
The US has been involved with the conflict by creating pacts with The Philippines I n 2014.
South China Sea impact on people
- Increased tension between countries in air and ship – could lead to potential conflicts
- Small fishing boats are being targeted meaning many innocent people are being killed due to tense geopolitical relationships.
South China Sea impact on the environment
- Created new artificial sand islands which have been built for military bases – this has been done through dredging which breaks up coral reeds which disturbs ecosystems and migration of species.
- Increased military activity and commercial fishing has caused a loss of biodiversity in the SCS – it is a global hotspot for biodiversity
- The presence of oil and gas reserves puts it more at risk of exploitation – increased shipping activity and potential oil and gas leaks also heighten the risk of pollution.
Ukraine conflict impact on the people
- The conflict in Crimea, led to may force displacements of tens of thousands of people
- Conflicts of Russia invading parts of Ukraine caused lots of death
- Many protests in what people want either to side with the EU or Russia
Ukraine conflict impact on the environment
- Added pressure to land with oil and gas pipes needed for access to Russia and Europe.
- More pressure on land with military bases and army troops invading areas – caused lots of degradation to the land.
SCS timeline for China’s expansion
- 2014 – china began constricting an airport on the reclaimed land on Fiery Cross Reef
- 2015 – China began construction of a port and possibly an airport on Mischief Reef
- 2015 – Subi Reef appeared to be developed into a Chinese military base
What is the importance of the artificial islands made by China in the SCS?
- Militarily – defending the ocean as an area it should control
- Economically – they may harbour oil and gas reserves
How has it used its sphere of influence in the SCS?
- By using the policy referred to as the Island Chain Strategy
- Launched its first air carrier in 2012 and plans for 2 more by 2020
What is happening in the South China Sea?
- Island building is a direct attack on the UN Law of the Sea as construction is happening in areas that are disputed – China is taking de facto control of places claimed by other countries
- China is challenging the US naval and air hegemony in the area, and has begun to question the right of the US ships and aircraft to sail and fly in the disputed areas
- Unresolved status of Taiwan – Chinese only ethnically, politically it is in limbo, fearful of cutting ties with China but protecting relationship with the US
Why has the relationship of the USA and EU with other countries being accused of being unfair?
- Neo colonialism – superpowers pulling the economic and political strings of developing countries, despite not ruling them directly as during the colonial era
- Unfair terms of trade – cheap commodity exports for the developing world set against expensive manufactured imports from developed countries
- The brain drain of skilled workers from developing countries to boost developed world economies
- Local wealthy elites, who control imports and exports in developing countries, benefitting from the neo-colonialism relationship but having no interest in changing it
What does China gain from Africa?
- China relies on African oil from Angola and Nigeria – as well as minerals such as Zambian copper and even sugar and biofuels frown in Africa to fuel its growing economy
- Africa increasingly imports Chinese manufactured goods and relies on Chinese investment in infrastructure like roads, rail and ports
Concerns of the environmental impact China is having on Africa
- Chinese imports of tropical timber have been linked to widespread illegal deforestation in Mozambique
- Oil spills linked to Chinese funded oil wells have been reported in Chad and Angola
What is the evidence that the relationship with China and Africa is Neo-cololism related?
- Infrastructure investments ensure China can export raw materials as cheaply and efficiently as possible
- Skilled and technical jobs are often filled by Chinese migrant workers
- Cheap Chinese imports have undercut local producers and forced them out of business
- tied aid
What is the evidence for the development opportunity relationship?
-between China and Africa?
- China has invested heavily in roads, railways and ports to export raw materials – infrastructure that can be used by Africans themselves
- Chinese factories and mines bring modern working practices, and technology, to Africa
- Vital jobs are created, especially by large industrial, transport and energy projects, which also modernise the economy
What did China do in Congo?
-The extraction of the metallic ore coltan has led to widespread forest loss and river pollution, but is vital to Chinese mobile phone and computer manufacturers
How does China into Africa link with previous interdependencies?
- The role of emerging powers in Africa are similar to the USA in Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore in the 1960s,70s as a political, economic and military ally whose investment aided long-term development towards NIC status
- Or it could be the repeat of the colonial and imperial exploitation of previous centuries
Why is China investing into Africa?
- Part of belt and road initiative – trade routes through countries to maximise its trade
- To access landlocked countries in Africa for market access
- to export raw materials for economic growth in China
What do Africa actually need?
-Africa needs more jobs - Need broad base development – need more labour absorption then led to more domestic demand, more investment into manufacturing
Positives for African countries with Chinese investment
- China has strengthened diplomatic relationships between the fragmented African countries
- Kenya railway has linked the port of Mombasa and Nairobi
- China’s loans are cheaper and often come with fewer strings attached – doesn’t care if they have human rights issues, debts in other countries or about transparency
- China is communicating with local governments to meet needs of them
Negatives for African Countries
- China extracts raw materials and in return gives technology or expensive manufactured goods
- environmental impacts
- labour problems
- Many African countries are in tied aid (Djibouti - 77% of its debt is to China)
- China sent many people to Africa for mining – created lots of hostility as any profit made was going back to China
Positives for China
- more African countries are dependant on it
- Important route for the belt and road initiative in order to increase connectivity for China
- penetrating more countries
- benefits of geopolitical location - China has military bases in Djibouti
- gain voting power in large IGO’s
Negatives for China
- China are now interdependent on others
- Lots of pressure from EU and US with accusations around human rights and over abstraction of resources
- this impacts its international reputation
- negative impact on diplomatic relations
what has china done in Djibouti?
- Chinese military bases set up here
- Geostrategic location
- Creating diplomatic relationships
- Stability in Djibouti will improve
- 77% of debt is to China – most at risk of not being able to repay debt (drop of price of oil would make it more difficult)
What has china done in Kenya?
- Not dissimilar to what happened in colonial times
- However, it’s more of an equal partnership and feel that is benefitting them
- Investing in railways to export goods to Kenya so that they are able to access the rest of Africa – connecting ports and cities (Nairobi)
- Chinese owned rail company – profits go to China
- Rail good for moving freight and people – intermodal containerisation
- Rail is opening up landlocked countries for trade
Why is Guam so politically important?
- It is a major military base of the US – Air force and Navy installations
- This occupies 29% of the island
- Near the SCS – can have rapid response to any conflicts there
How has the centre of gravity shifted?
- AD1 – 1500 – India and China held the world economy.
- Between 1820-1913 – The industrial revolution of the UK and other European countries rapidly pulled the world economy towards them.
- After the second world war – the dominant US economy pulled it across, the European countries still had some power though.
- Since 1990 – the centre of gravity has been shifted towards the east, especially China.
Asia’s rising power
- By 2050, it is predicted that Asia will be by far the world’s most populous continent and the world’s largest by GDP
- Indonesia, China, India and Japan (all emerging superpowers) are expected to have economies greater than $5 trillion – giving them great military power (south china sea)
- By 2030, there could be a strong case for India and Indonesia to have permanent seats on the UN security council.
- India and China will be fighting for superpower position
- China’s power has allowed it to take over Tibet and Taiwan (don’t recognise it as a country)
- Mekong river – damning the northern stretches of the river which Laos and Thailand don’t like – water conflict
- North - South project – china taking water away from Tibetan plateau
Facts about India and China has superpowers
- 36% of the world’s population
- 18% of global GDP
- 32% of global carbon dioxide emissions
- Both are members of the G20
What is the relationship between India and China?
- Ideological rivals – India is the world’s largest democracy, whereas China is a communist dictatorship
- Share borders but parts are disputed (Tawang conflict in 1967)
- China has a strong economic alliance with Pakistan - $54bn Chinese investment in CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) – India and Pakistan have a tense relationship
- India has a large trade deficit with China – imports more than it exports with China – China have made India dependant on them
- Both have advanced space programmes – both rocket and nuclear missile technology good – both has aircraft carrier showing they have regional and global naval ambitions
What has happened recently in Asia?
- Indian officials say that China is assisting rebel groups
- This rebel group are fighting for a separate homeland in an areas between India and Myanmar’s border
- Armed groups in Myanmar are acting as Beijing’s proxies by supplying weapons and providing hideouts for rebel groups in India’s north-eastern states
- This is putting pressure on the Indian military as tensions with Pakistan and China remain
recent 7 month stand off in Himalayas
- The region of the Himalayas has been a tense spot for China and India since 1962
- In June 2020, the Chinese military gradually built-up forces in the region (Galwan River Valley), which left 20 Indian soldiers dead and raised tensions to the highest point in decades
- Both countries have positioned many troops and bases along that region, and they are only a few 100m apart.
- China is ready for conflict and a long stand-off, whilst many suggest India will yield overtime to pressure, negotiate a compromise or lower its vigilance and give China an opportunity to inflict defeat on India.
Why is the Middle East significant?
- Connects the east and the west
- East- extremism, communist - west with freedom, democracy
- Used to be main trading route – the original silk road for china would have gone through middle east, this was the first trading route (became melting pot of lots of different cultures = conflict)
Who is Al-Qaeda
- Largest terrorist group that originated from the Middle East
- Very against the US – due to a falling out between them
- ISIS is a splinter group
- Easy access to Europe – can travel freely around the world creating terror
7th century - why was there conflict in Syria
Syria is centre point of many different cultures – Mediterranean Sea, Egypt, Anatolia (Turkey), the Mesopotamia region, Persia on the East and Arab on the south – when the religion of Islam spread
Why is Damascus important?
- The oldest continuously inhabited city – early mentions of it go back to 1500BC
- Before Syrian conflict, most religious buildings and was an important part of trading route (nodal point)
- Strategically advantageous location – had river and shielded by mountains
- It became a huge Islamic empire
- Mostly controlled by the government and is in 6th year of war
Syrian war - what happened after the world war? part 1
- After the first world war – boundaries were re-drawn for territories around Syria by UK and France
- Syria was controlled by France which combines many different ethnic groups
- Majority Muslim – within this there are different types of Muslims (Sunni, Shia and Alevis) don’t like each other
- Other religions such as Christian and Druze
Syrian War - who became leader and why did this cause conflict? Part 2
- Alevis Muslims controlled coastal area of Syria – ASSAD was from this part and Alevis – segregation in terms of culture and religion
- Inequalities have started to increase – Alevis were benefitting, Sunni and Shia didn’t feel they were being benefitting with the increase in wealth
- Economic growth came from agricultural industry and oil industry
- 2011 - Lots of cities went to protest against Assad to end the Assad regime – he then sends the army in to all the cities to stop the rebels
Syrian Conflict - who are the different groups? What kind of war is it now? part 3
- Syrian government, opposition armies (civilians) , ISIS, Rojava (Kurds in the North)
- US is backing the opposition – US is providing opposition with SAS training and weapons
- Russia is backing Syrian government – Proxy war
- ISIS control a large part of Syria – around a river
- Rojava – saying it will protect northern region and keep control of ISIS from rising up – smaller militia – formed of many British troops
- Rojava and Syrian government have many conflicts
- it is a proxy war
Why does Syria and Turkey have a tense relationship?
- Syria and Turkey have a tense relationship due to Syria’s support of the Kurdish PKK as well as disputes over Turkish dams which reduce the flow of the Euphrates river
- During the war, Turkey has been backing opposition groups and is strongly pushing against the autonomous rights of Rojava
Syrian war - Why has this turned into a global conflict?
- Rojava have a broad, global support network
- United Nations veto powers conflict – which have separated into an eastern (China and Russia) and western group (USA, UK, France)
- The USA is supporting the rebels in their fight to get rid of Assad
- Russia and China are strong supporters of the Assad Government with Russia actively involved in the war
What happened in Aleppo?
- The eastern part of the city is under rebel control surrounded by government troops
- The rebels denied giving up which led to the eastern part of the city to be bombed by Russian airstrikes
- This cut many civilians off from food and medical supply
Facts of the impacts the Syrian war has caused
- 4.8 million refugees
- 6.6 million displaced within Syria
- 500,000 killed since the start in 2011
How is Turkey involved in the Syrian War?
- Kurds were fighting ISIS in 2019
- US did back the Kurds to keep ISIS at bay and defeated ISIS in 2019
- Trump told troops to withdraw –only wanted to reduce international terror
- Turkey then invaded Rojava as the US left – did it due to being unhappy of the size of the Kurds
- Kurdish terrorists in Turkey – as Kurds are a displace ethnic group so committed attacks in Turkey due to their feeling of oppression
- Turkey don’t want Kurdish border
- Turkey want to establish a 300-mile border to keep away the Kurdish but also give a home to those displaced
Who are the Kurds?
- ethnic group
- want interdependence in the Northern parts of Syria called Rojava
How are Iraq and Iran involved in the Syrian war?
- Authoritarian government
- Same ideology as Assad
- Backing Assad, providing money and troops
How is Israel involved in the Syrian war?
- Israel has been bombing the south of Syria to protect themselves from Hezbollah
- Hezbollah terrorist group that operate in Israel
- They have been supporting Assad
- Worried that Iran and Iraq are becoming too powerful
- If Iran and Iraq gain power, Israel may lose power to Hezbollah
How are Saudi and Qatar involved?
- Worried about Iraq and Iran gaining power
- Funding the rebel forces
- Saudi Arabia don’t like Iran due to it wanting to take on more western ways and don’t want Assad to gain any more power
Opposition forces
- there are good and bad
- good - pro democracy and freedom
- bad - ISIS - terror
Why does Russia not want Syria to fall to the west?
-Russia doesn’t want Syria to fall to the west as they use it as a strategic location to use the port
How does Libya relate to the Syrian War?
Libya – Arab spring uprising – overthrowing the government
- NATO went into Libya and promised to help civilians but went in and assassinated the government
- Now helps to run it with western influence
- Russia doesn’t want this to happen to Syria
What is the Geneva convention?
-Geneva convention – law of war – civilians should not be harmed, prisoners should have respect, medical supplies should be able to get in, can’t bomb hospitals
What happened when Assad bombed Aleppo?
- Assad repeatedly bombed Aleppo to try and wipe out the rebel groups – but this killed many civilians – breaking the international declaration of human rights – which was the USA’s reason to get involved
- UN tried to get involved but China and Russia vetoed the plan to bomb Syria – so therefore Trump went to NATO which decided to bomb Syria
What are the costs of being a superpower?
- Environmental damage – increased interconnection from urbanisation and migration
- International reputation – from expanding geopolitical intervention
- Diplomatic relations may become tense – through contested land
- Involvement in disputes – proxy wars – can lead to human rights issues as superpowers aren’t taking responsibility – Costs for funding it as well, as well as people dying
- Certain level of inequality – want to keep TNC’s as powerful as possible – leads to wealth but lots of inequality
- Aid – large amounts of money to support others
- Costs from building brand and image – international events
- have to create interdependencies
- Costs to go into IGO’s – need money and people – lots of diplomatic relations needed so that people vote in your favour
Why have we become economically weak?
debt
unemployment
economic restructuring
why have we become economically weak? debt
•the recession created public debt. This in turn created tax rises in some countries which slows the economy.
•If taxes aren’t risen, austerity measures are put into place.
•A geopolitical risk is that countries begin to rely on capital investments from emerging countries increasing their political and economic power.
-Public debt can lead to austerity measures
-High reliance on capital investments
why have we become economically weak? unemployment
- Outsourcing from TNC’s has taken jobs away from western countries
- Emerging nations have more skilled, cheaper labour
- Increased competition, more creative and efficient manufacturing in emerging countries has created job losses for western TNCs eg General motors.
- European TNCs are increasingly owned by conglomerates from emerging countries so secondary sector workers increasingly rely on decisions made abroad.
why have we become economically weak? economic restructuring
- Change in job sectors has caused inequalities
- From manufacturing and tertiary to more quaternary jobs
- The EU and USA have been forced to move from manufacturing to tertiary and quaternary sectors
- But education and skills hasn’t developed fast enough.
- Disadvantages communities haven’t been able to participate in the tertiary or quaternary job market.
Challenges for the usa - debt
- Large debt of $19 trillion in 2016
- Has large, stable TNC’s
Challenges for the usa - demographic
- Has a slowly ageing population
- Social costs fall on individual rather than government
- Total population increase from 324million to 415 million in 2060
Challenges for the usa - political
- Race relations are difficult
- Political parties reach deadlock
- USA values are relatively consistent across the country
Challenges for the usa - resources
- USA are becoming more secure in their resources due to oil and gas fracking
- Water is becoming an issue in some areas of the southwest
Challenges for the usa - social
- Health spending is approx. 17% of the USA’s annual GDP (74% of Adult Americans - are overweight)
- Little prince syndrome in China – due to the one child policy this has led to children being spoilt which can create dangerous people when they grow up
Challenges for the EU - economic
- Debt in the Eurozone was 9.7 trillion euros in 2016, and £1.6 trillion in the UK
- 90% of the annual GDP for both
- Debt is slowing economic growth
Challenges for the EU - demographic
- The EU population is ageing fast
- By 2025, 20% of the EU citizens will be over 65
- The EU workforce will drop by 14% by 2040 putting a burden on those working
Challenges for the EU - political
- Tensions between countries wanting deeper union (France and Germany) and the UK have grown
- This has resulted in the rise of the far right. Relationships with Russia and issues over immigration have led to issues.
Challenges for the EU - resources
-Energy security is a key EU issue, as it relies on imported oil and gas, some of which comes from Russia
Challenges for the EU -social
- Youth unemployment in the EU was 22% in 2015, and over 45% in Greece and Spain.
- Long term youth unemployment risks a ‘lost generation’ of young people, as well as political disaffection
