Topic 7 - EQ1 - Superpowers Flashcards
Define a superpower
A superpower is nation with the ability to project its influence anywhere in the world and be a dominant global force.
Who were the original superpowers? (the countries the term was made for)
USA, USSR and British Empire in the 1940s.
What are 7 loose criteria used to define a superpower?
-Military strength
-Economic strength
-Political influence
-Access to resources
-Demographic size/age
-Physical size
-Cultural impact
What is the base needed for superpower status?
Economic power. A large and powerful economy gives nations the wealth to increase their wealth through international trade and FDI, maintain a powerful military, exploit natural resources and develop human resources. Wealth is self-perpetuating.
What are the pillars built on economic power to reach superpower status?
-Military power (threat of military useful for bargaining, especially nuclear threat + military force can be used to achieve goals)
-Political influence (the ability to influence others through diplomacy and IGOs)
-Cultural power (can be exercised through the media and cultural attractiveness, language can either boost or limit potential cultural power)
-Resources (physical or human both help)
What are the two types of power which countries use to maintain power? (sometimes a third too)
Hard power and soft power (economic power too)
What is an example of hard power?
Military action or the threat of it (the creation of military alliances can also be quite hard power). E.g. NATO military intervention in Libya in 2011.
What is an example of soft power?
Cultural or ideological attractiveness (often pushed through propaganda or media) and perceived morality of foreign policy. E.g. USA was more culturally attractive to many that the USSR in the Cold War.
What is an example of economic power (as a form of maintaining power)?
The use of economic sanctions to damage another country’s economy to get them to stop doing something or do something else, development aid and favourable trade agreements. E.g. economic sanctions on Apartheid South Africa in 1962 from the EEC and the UK amongst others.
What is geostrategic policy?
Policies that attempt to meet the global and regional aims of a country by combining diplomacy with the movement and positioning of military assets.
What is MacKinder’s Heartland theory?
MacKinder thought that whoever controlled Eastern Europe - the Heartland and most geo-strategic location on Earth - would control the world. The idea was that whoever gained control of Eastern Europe, controlled the Heartland - also known as the Pivot Area and the centre of global power - and whoever controlled the Heartland, could easily gain control of the World Island (Africa and Eurasia). The further from the heartland the less power and influence a country would have.
What is the entirety of MacKinder’s theory based on in terms of the relationship between land and power?
Control over land = political power
Arguably makes the theory less applicable in the 21st Century.
How has the pivot point/centre of global power in MacKinder’s theory evolved over time?
MacKinder always knew the heartland and pivot point could shift, he believed it would shift with the centre of industrialisation and sea power (he believed the pivot point and true centre of global power was moving west with British industrialisation). MacKinder believed that Britain had the capabilities to dominate the heartland.
In the 11thC until the 19thC the centre of global power was in Central Asia due to the Silk Road. Post-industrialisation it shifted greatly towards Western Europe being in Iceland and Norway for much of the 20thC. However, the pivot point is moving quickly back towards Central Asia and towards the emerging economies of China and India.
THE PIVOT POINT IS NOT FIXED.
Where did Britain rule at the peak of the British Empire in the 1920s?
20% of the global population and 25% of global land mass.
It controlled land on every inhabited continent and stretched from Canada in the global NW to New Zealand in the SE.
What benefits did the Empire have for Britain?
-Global dominance and prestige (dominance over European rivals)
-Control over natural resources to supply British industry
-Access to markets for British export industry (often sold manufactured products back to where it had got the resources from for a greatly inflated price)
-The conversion of people to christianity (seen as a civilising mission)
What were the two phases of the British Empire?
Mercantilist phase (1600-1850) - small colonies conquered on the coast or islands (e.g. Jamaica, Bombay, New England) defended by coastal forts and navy to protect maritime trade of resources and slaves. Economic interests of private companies, such as the Royal African Company, EIC and Hudson’s Bay Company pioneered British expansion.
Imperial phase (1850-1945) - vast land conquered and coastal colonies extended inland. British social influences are increasingly introduced to colonies (language, sport, religion…). Govt institutions with British administrators set up to rule colonies (direct rule of govt). Complex trade develops. Farms and plantations often set up by settlers.
How colonial rule worked in India?
-Military personnel, civil servants and entrepreneurs emigrated to India to run the raj and British elite ran top jobs, Indians educated in British school dominated lower administrative positions
-Process of acculturation (British traditions such as cricket, afternoon tea and the English language… were introduced)
-Strict social order maintained that differentiated ruling white British from Indians (divide and rule)
-India modernised (over 61000 km of railways to enable efficient transport of goods)
What was the role of the navy in the Empire?
The Royal Navy and its dominations of the oceans (2x as big as second biggest navy in 1914) enabled the protection of colonies and the trade routes between them, therefore, maintaining the empire.
Why did the British colonial era (era of the first modern superpower) come to an end?
-Post WW2 bankruptcies meant there was little money to run, or even defend position of Britain, in colonies (Britain and most of Europe became reliant on American loans and the Americans as anti-imperialists were adamantly against funding the Empire)
-Post WW2 reconstruction at home meant the colonies were viewed as less important than domestic issues (Beveridge report + development of the EEC)
-Anti-colonial sentiment in the colonies grew increasingly strong across the Empire and demands for independence could no longer be ignored
What is a multi-polar world?
A multi-polar world is a world with multiple centres of global power in different global superpowers.
When did a multi-polar world emerge?
In the 1930s a multi-polar world emerged…
-Germany became more powerful in the ‘30s as Hitler rearmed the country and ‘set it free’ from the Treaty of Versailles, preparing it for war in Europe
-The USA became economically and militarily stronger, challenging Britain’s traditional global leadership
-The USSR became a beacon of a newly powerful ideology (communism)
-The rise of Imperial Japan as an increasing power in Asia threatened British interests in Asia
-The existence of the largest of Empire on the Earth was maintained throughout
Why did the multi-polar world fall post-ww2?
Britain was weakened by poor economic performance and the economic damage inflicted by WW2 and even before WW2 Britain’s traditional geographical spheres of influence were being challenged. Military power was increasingly more important with an arms race in the 30s and strengthened navies, but Britain could not really keep up. Britain began decolonising post war (Indian independence 1947).
Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were obliterated by the war.
USSR and USA emerged as the two major powers in a new bi-polar world.
What is a bi-polar world?
A bi-polar world is a world with two opposing centres of power in different global superpowers.
When did the world become a bi-polar world?
The world was bi-polar from 1945-1990 during the Cold War with the USA and USSR being the two poles.
The colonial era of Britain, and to a lesser extent France, came to an end after WW2 and by the 1970s the colonial powers had lost their colonies because of: bankruptcy, focus on reconstruction at home and anti-colonial movements. No longer a challenge to supremacy of USA and USSR.
How did the two global powers emerge?
USA: Industrialised rapidly (post 1860s), rail links, fossil fuels and metals fuelled this growth – overtook UK by the 1880s.
USSR: The Russian Revolution (1917) created large federal state – the USSR, followed by rapid industrialisation. Overtook UK as 2nd largest economy by 1941.
What happened during the bi-polar era?
The Cold War from 1945-1991. A 45 year standoff without direct conflict between the USA and USSR.
These two global superpowers in the Cold War’s bipolar world had completely different ideologies. The USA was staunchly capitalist and the USSR was staunchly communist.
During the bi-polar era the USA became an increasingly global superpower with military bases aimed at containing the USSR and preventing the spread of communism. The USSR built a core of countries it either allied with (Eastern Europe) or invaded (Afghanistan).
What was the role of proxy wars during Cold War? What were some ‘hot moments’ during the Cold War?
Proxy wars were the only battleground in the Cold War.
A proxy war is when the USA or USSR fought each other in a conflict, backing opposing sides, but did not fight one another directly.
Hot moments in the Cold War:
- 1950-53 Korean War – led to division into South Korea (backed by USA) and North (backed by China and Russia). The first of many proxy wars.
- 1962 Cuban missile crisis – closest the two sides got to real conflict.
- 1960s and 70s Vietnam War – USA beaten by Soviet backed Vietcong Communist forces – huge setback and stopped USA using troops abroad for next 20 years
- Rebellions by workers in Eastern Europe against soviet rule – 1956 Hungary, 1968 Czechoslovakia.
What are some examples of hard power used in the Cold War?
-Military action via proxy wars (or the threat of direct military action with nukes…)
-Economic sanctions to damage another country’s economy
What are some examples of soft(ish) power used in the Cold War?
-Creation military and economic alliances to marginalise certain nations
-Development aid
-Trade agreements to forge economic ties
-Cultural and ideological attractiveness
-The moral authority of a nation’s foreign policy
How did the USA and USSR match up militarily?
Both had extensive intelligence networks (CIA vs KGB) and nuclear arsenals (USA had them in bases across the globe). USA had the world’s largest navy and most powerful Air Force, despite the USSR’s very large Army it had an outdated navy and Air Force.
In terms of allies, USA had Western Europe (NATO), South Korea and Japan, and USSR had Eastern Europe (Warsaw Pact) as well as Cuba and Vietnam.
