SUPERPOWERS

what is a superpower and hyper power

• a global country known for their influence and power to influence global affairs

• occasionally, a lone superpower can be known as a hyper power; a completely dominant sue power such as 1850 - 1910 Britain and the usa from 1990 - 2010

• countries which already have a large and growing economic, military and political influence are termed emerging superpowers

• other countries can have a major influence at a continental scale, known as regional powers such as South Africa

blue water navy

• capacity to deploy a task force of shops across the open ocean and to support them at great distances from their bases

• nation has the potential to play a big role on the international stage

• may be a more complex, expensive and useful than building a nuclear weapon

geo-strategic policies

• in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the idea that power came form controlling vast land areas was important

• in 1904, british geography halford mackinder produced an influential geo-strategic location theory called the Heartland theory

• geo-strategic refers to policies in terms of securing needed resources, both within the country and globally

the Cold War

• prolonged geopolitical, ideological and economic struggle from 1945 to 1991 between the USA and its capitalistic, democratic allies and the soviet union with its communist, authoritarian allies

• defined by the fact that the two superpowers never directly engaged in full scale direct military warfare

characteristics of superpowers: economic power

• the essential base of a superpower

• money is needed to invest in military, exploit resources and develop society

characteristics of superpowers: political power

• the ability yo have power within organisations such as United Nations and the WTO

• this allows countries to ‘get their own way’

characteristics of superpowers: military power

• the threat of action can be used for bargaining and military force can achieve political goals

• especially influential for those with blue water navies

characteristics of superpowers: cultural power

• the appeal of a country’s way of life and ideologies such as the American dream

• includes the spread of their film, arts and food

characteristics of superpowers: access to resources

• possession of fossil fuels, minerals and land can generate economic and geopolitical power

• human resources can include numbers of people such as Chinas demographic weight

superpower: USA

• economy: $17.4tn

• military: most powerful globally, 800 military bases globally and expenditure of $508bn annually

• resources: 320m residents, worlds largest coal reserves, generous minerals and metals

• political: one of the most influential

• cultural: American dream, consumerism, free market economics, freedom of speech

mechanisms of power: hard power

• power through force or coercion

• likely to involve military power (britains expansionist policy in the imperial era) or economic sanctions (against Iran to prevent it developing its military nuclear capability)

• often countries with the largest economies have the most significant influence: UK, US and EU (worlds most powerful currencies)

• large military and type of weapons owned are also representative of power such as nuclear weapons

• threat of military force can be seduced to exert pressure and to achieve geopolitical goals (eg US and Saddam Hussein)

• only 5 countries have a permanent seat on the UN security council, key decision making body and only they can veto any resolution

• diplomatic threats to use force if negotiations fail

mechanism of power: economic power

• in between hard and soft power

• favouring certain trade partners

• trade blocs and alliances

• giving allies economic and technical help

• using aid to influence policy

mechanisms of power: soft power

• exerting influence through favour and persuasion

• likely to be based on cultural power and how appealing a nations way of life, values and ideology are to others

• often exercised through film, the arts and food

• using the media to promote a particular image and message

• exporting culture in the form of film, tv and globally recognised brands

changes and effectiveness in maintaining power

• combination of hard and soft power is necessary as military action is a blunt instrument and does not always lead to success (2003 Iraq war)

• soft power alone might not be able to persuade especially if culturally different

• soft power has become more important over time

• in the 19th century colonial powers maintained power through force

• china is gaining on the usa in terms of size of its GDP but per capita income in the USA is four times higher

• 21st century: usa did exercise its military power in Iraq and Afghanistan but consequences of their actions left the usa with damaged reputation and less likely to intervene militarily especially to put ‘boots on the ground’

mackinders geo-strategic location theory

• mackinder in 1904 developed theories about global power and the continents

• believed whoever controlled Europe and Asia (the biggest landmass) would control the world

• believed the heartland extended from Eastern Europe into Russia, at the centre of which was a pivot

• theory received much criticism since its publication

• some argued that its applicability to todays geopolitical landscape was questionable

• others claim the theory has influenced key foreign policies on a global scale, remaining highly relevant and influential: post ww1 limiting germanys expansion, post ww2 attempts form NATO to contain the Soviet Union, Truman Doctrines attempt to contain the spread of communism

mackinders heartland

• three things that determined power in the heartland; whoever ruled the pivot ruled the heartland, whoever ruled the heartland would command the world island and whoever ruled the world island ruled the world

• in theory, further away the heartland a country was, the less influence it had

chinas belt and road policy

• launched in 2013 - one belt one road initiative

• sometimes called the New Silk Road

• $1tn infrastructure project to invest in countries around the world

• invested in infrastructure in asia to develop trade routes and build relationships with Chineses businesses and governments

• Chinese businesses often earn money from the projects. For example, if a new railway line is being built, this may be done by a Chinese construction company

• If a country's trade routes & infrastructure are better with China than another country, they are more likely to import and export goods with China

impacts of chinas belt and road policy

• Hanoi, Vietnam: new airport and new urban rail system built using some Chinese funding

• China have helped economically develop Kenya through building infrastructure and railroads for instance which have provided jobs as well as development in Africa

• investment in Africa, spreading their sphere of influence and gain resources such as oil in Chad and tropical timber in Mozambique

• increasing China's geo-political influence around Africa and countries there are becoming closer allies to China, possibly moving away from the West causing further geo political tensions

• new dry port created in Kazakh town in Khorgos connecting the EU and China

• 2014 - 2018: $32bn invested in Pakistan and $17bn invested in Indonesia

• 2019: india steppes supporting the initiative, perhaps fearing that it could reduce Indias power in Asia

• suspicions based of geopolitics rather than improving socio-economic conditions