Superpowers - EQ1 - 7.1 & 7.2 Flashcards
Define superpower
- a country with the capacity to project dominating power & influence anywhere in the world, sometimes in more than one region of the globe at a time
Define emerging superpower
- countries with a large role in one of more superpower characteristics, and with growing influence
- they may not yet have dominance in all key areas of superpower status
- e.g. China, Brazil, India, Russia
Define regional power
- Regional powers can project dominating power and influence over other countries within the continent or region,
- but are less powerful outside that region
- e.g. Nigeria
Define a hyperpower
- an unchallenged superpower that is dominant in all aspects of power
- e.g USA (1990-2010) & Britain (1850-1910)
What are the 6 superpower characteristics
- economic
- political
- military
- cultural
- demographic
- access to resources
Explain the economic characteristic for defining a country’s power
- 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
- Underpins the other 5 characteristics
- The USA has the world’s largest total GDP - $18.5 trillion
Explain the political characteristic for defining a country’s power
- the ability to influence the policies of other countries through the dominance of negotiations (Both bilaterally and through international organisations)
- many multilateral agreements
- permanent seat on UN security council
Explain the military characteristic for defining a country’s power
- High expenditure, largest amount of hardware personnell, inc nuclear weapons
- could command global military control
- unparalleled intelligence networks
- exporters of military technology
- Global influence through blue water navy and drone, missile and satellite technology
- Strong demographic & economic power
Explain the cultural characteristic for defining a country’s power
- 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
Explain the demographic characteristic for defining a country’s power
- significant percentage of global 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
Explain the resources characteristic for defining a country’s power
- able to export and control the supply of valuable commodities, for example oil, or be able to secure the resources it needs
- Provides inputs for economic growth
- May be internally located, or accessed through reliable source countries through transport pathways.
- Essential for military power
Define hard power
- power through force or coercion and is likely to involve military power or economic sanctions
- These mechanisms of maintaining power & extending global influence sit on the spectrum from “….’ to ‘….’ power, and vary in their effectiveness
- Harvard’s Nye argued that true superpowers need to Combine both a ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ power approach to become a ‘….’ power
- hard
- soft
- smart
Define soft power
- exerting influence through favour and persuasion, and is therefore likely to be based on cultural power
What are the characteristics of soft power
- Political Values - its democracy or its overseas image.
- Culture
- Foreign Policy
What are the characteristics of hard power
- Blue-Water Navy - Military force which operate across the deep waters of open oceans.
- Green-Water Navy - Military force which operates on coastal waters, ports and harbour
- Military Personnel - The amount of people who are members of the state’s armed forces
- Defence Spending - Money spent by the govt. for weapons, equipment, and soldiers
Exemplify the spetrum of hard to soft power
- Hard power- Military force or its threat
- Economic sanctions and diplomatic actions
- Coercive policy e.g. tied aid or trade agreements
- Political influence, moral authority, economic influence
- Soft power - Cultural attractiveness
What is smart power
- Joseph Nye claimed that the world’s most powerful and influential countries use ‘smart power’ - a combination of hard and soft power
Give examples of hard power
- Military presence and force
- Military action, or the threat of it
- Britain’s military actions taken in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Military alliances such as NATO
- Diplomatic threats to use force if negotiation fails
Give examples of soft power
- Using the media to promote a particular image and message
- The global dominance of the USA through TNCs such as Coca Cola and McDonald’s, as well as media, TV, films etc.
- Culture and ideology
- Exporting culture in the form of film and
- TV, or globally recognised brands
- Exerting influence through favour and persuasion
Give examples of economic power
- Favouring certain trade partners
- Using aid to influence policy
- Economic sanctions such as those taken against Iran to try to prevent it from developing its military nuclear capability
- Trade blocs and alliances
- Aid and trade
- Giving allies economic and technical help
Why could hard power be argued more or less effective
- Hard power (threats of force or military action) can get results,
- but it is expensive and risky
- Others may view military action as unnecessary or illegal,
- so the aggressor may lose allies and moral authority (e.g. Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Crimea)
Why could soft power be argued more or less effective
- Soft power relies on a country having respected culture, values and politics, which may be enough to persuade some countries but not others
- Applied well it is low cost and, because it is about creating alliances and friendly relations, may spread to other countries
Who produced the geo-strategic location, ‘Heartland’ theory
A British Geographer named Mackinder
Where is the Heartland area located
- The Heartland is an area of central Asia, bordered by the Himalayas, the Russian steppes and the Arctic.
- This is very hard to invade, because of physical barriers in the way.
- It is a power-base, which allows control of the world island.
What is Mackinder’s geo-strategic theory
- the centre of the Eurasian land mass as a key geo-strategic location:
- if one nation controlled this heartland, it would become globally dominant as it would control 50% of the world’s resources
- Mackinder’s view was that other countries should work together to balance this ‘Heartland’ power and make sure it did not become too dominant
What are the 3 determinents of power in the Heartland’s region
- whoever ruled the most strategic parts of Europe would command the heartland
- whoever ruled the heartland would command the world island e.g Europe & Russia
- whoever controlled the island ruled the world
What 2 factors hinder Russia’s power according to this theory
- 14 bordering countries
- much of its coast is frozen in winter, so it has few year round ports
What role does sea power play in global power
- Mackinder thought thr ‘Heartland’ could shift geographically, especially as a result of seapower
- He also believed Britain’s nineteenth century industrialisation had shifted the centre of power westward
- Using seapower he believed the UK could dominate everywhere from Western Europe to the pacific coast as well as the Eurasian land mass & potentially the world
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.
- The Trumman Doctrine committed the USA to support those fighting Communism around the world - led to US & allies entering conflicts in Korea & Vietnam
In the 21st century, how does the Heartland Theory seem antiquated
- Modern military technology (e.g strike aircraft) can hit deep inside another country’s territory - size is no longer a protection
- Physical resources are traded internationally; there is much less need to have them domestically
- War and conflict are generally seen as abnormal, whereas in the past they were accepted ways of gaining power
Why are geo-strategic policies less important as a result of globalisation
- superpower countries may be more at threat from cyber-warfare than from invasion by other nations
- some TNCs have become more powerful than most nations through their control of global trade
- superpowers may get involved with proxy conflicts, supporting opposite sides of conflicts in world regions such as the Middle East
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How has the global power shifted in the twenty-first century
- The centre is shifted eastwards towards the country/region with the largest GDP, following the growing importance of China
Which type of power has become the most common way of gaining influence
- Soft power has become more common as a way of gaining influence and maintaining power, by creating economic and political alliances
What did the development of empires rely on
- powerful navies to transport soldiers and equipment to areas of potential conquest, and then protect sea-routes and coastlines from enemies
- large and advanced armed forces to conquer territory and then control it
- businesses, often govt owned, to exploit resources in the conquered territories by mining (gold, tin) and plantation farming (rubber, tea, coffee)
- a fleet of merchant ships, protected by a navy, to transport goods back to the home country
- people from the home country to act as the govt and civil service to run the colonies
- The period from ………… was an imperial era (denominated by empires)
- European powers (Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and Germany) conquered land in the ………………….. and built empires that directly controlled territories
- 1500 to 1950
- Americas, Africa and Asia
What did the development of empires rely on
- powerful navies to transport soldiers and equipment to areas of potential conquest, and then protect sea-routes and coastlines from enemies
- large and advanced armed forces to conquer territory and then control it
- businesses to exploit resources in the conquered territories
- a fleet of merchant ships, protected by a navy, to transport goods home
- people from the home country to act as the govt and civil service to run the colonies