7.9a Challenges facing superpowers

what happened in economic restructuring

closure of coal mines shifting employment from primary and secondary to tertiary and quaternary

why did the economic restructuring happen

due to change in gov elected in 1979

what did the economic restructuring cause

caused extreme unemployment (227000 lost jobs in coal mine), led to high amount of migration, caused mental health problems such as depression

what was the main cause of the global financial crisis 2007-08

subprime lending (lending to those who cant afford to pay back)

what was wrong with the global financial crisis 2007-08

subprime mortgages were a risk and the solution was to sell on these mortgages to high income people

what could happen with the global financial crisis 2007-08

once bubble bursts every global bank will be affected as they all link into the mortgages or bought debt packages

how much did USA spend on space exploration in 2022

$25bn

how much did EU spend on space exploration in 2022

$6.5bn

how much did China spend on space exploration in 2022

$12bn

how much did USA spend on military hard power in 2022

$800bn

how much did UK spend on military hard power in 2022

$55bn

how much did China spend on military hard power in 2022

$700bn

how many military bases are there around the world

800

what has happened to intelligence services

gov budgets increased towards anti terrorism, extremely labour intensive and costly, on ground surveillance and electronic interception of phone email and social media

what has happened in nuclear weapons

2016 uk parliament voted to update the trident nuclear deterrent, cost of upgrade is £100-259bn by 2075, cost involved in protecting them

why do EU and USA have uncertainties 

both face economic challenges that many prevent them from maintaining their global importance going forward

why is USA in a stronger position than EU

USA made up of states under same gov so easier to make decisions unlike EU has 27 different govs so harder, USA not aging as fast, fertility rate 1.9 but 1.6 for EU so more youthful pop