Superpowers

• Superpower- the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world and sometimes in more than one region of the globe at the same time
• Resource security

  • diverse resource base
  • large natural resource base
  • a lot of exports (trade surplus)
• Political stability and influence

  • aid spending
  • democracy
  • large numbers of political parties (no dictatorship)
  • powerful allies
  • members of many IGOs
• Economic strength:

  • high GDP per capita
  • lots of TNCs
  • member of trade blocs and IGOs
• Demographic size and stability:

  • significant percentage of the worlds population
  • few civil conflicts
  • high levels of inward migration
• Military strength:

  • nuclear weapons
  • intelligence networks
  • high military expenditure as a percentage of GDP
• Exportable culture:

  • Olympics, tourism, football etc
  • products sold worldwide
  • High media consumption
  • language spoken worldwide
  • international education and news channels
• Hard Power:

  • military presence and force
  • large air, naval and land forces
  • nuclear weapons
  • military bases in foreign countries giving geographical reach
  • miliary alliances- NATO
  • diplomatic threats to use force if negotiation fails, and the use of force
• Soft power:

  • culture and identity
  • using media to promote a particular image
  • exporting culture in the form of film/TV, or globally recognised brands
  • gradually persuading doubters that a particular action or views is in their interests
• How has superpowers use of power changed over time?

  • more hard power in the past
  • colonialism
  • more soft power now- media makes it hard to hide
  • However, still an excessive use of hard power
• Soft power 30 index:

  • France has been declared the new world leader in 'soft power' in 2019
  • According to the soft power 30, France ranked top ahead of the UK
  • France's rise from 5th to 1st is explained by Macrons overwhelming election victory as well as the country's 'unrivalled' vast diplomatic network, as well as how the country is percieved abroad
• BRITAIN:

  • 6th largest economy
  • import maritime trade routes- 95%
  • History
  • Oxbridge and other universities appeal to global elites. British systems of aw are modelled around the world
  • Culture:
  • the dominance of English and the status of the BBC as a major international broadcaster
  • London 2012
  • Diplomacy:
  • the UK maintains one of the largest network of embassies around the world
• Unipolar- when 1 superpower dominates the world

  • British Empire
• Bipolar- when 2 superpowers dominate the world
• Multipolar- when multiple superpowers dominate the world
• Mackinder's Heartland Theory


  Believed that the geography of an area influenced the society within it
• Open areas are easy to take over
• Areas with physical barriers such as forests or mountains are harder to control
• All countries impact each other- a connected world
• Politicians can no longer focus on their own country
• Heartland is landlocked- protects them
• Has a flat landscape- easier to travel
• Rimland has the sea- use navy and spread empire with little risk
• Potentially gives an advantage
• Heartland was also protected by mountains
• Theory was about warning countries about the future- need to stop the heartland from taking over
• Communism:

  • Cuba
  • China
  • USSR
  • workers are employed by the state
  • businesses belong to the state
  • government planned economy
  • dictatorship- no free elections
• Capitalism:

  • USA
  • free market economy
  • social objective is freedom
  • workers are employed by profit making individuals
  • businesses are privately owned
  • democracy with elected leader
• Why cant China challenge the USA?

  • roughly 150 million in poverty
  • do not have masses amounts of soft power
  • extreme censorship
• CHINAS BLUE WATER NAVY:

  • expanding its blue water navy- capable of operating globally
  • Chinas ever growing dependence on oil imports means it wants to protect vulnerable shipping routes using its own forces
  • its currently expanding its nuclear powered attack submarine fleet and has plans to build aircraft carriers
  • Chinas plans is to have a navy capable of patrolling out into the Pacific to what is called the 'second island chain'
• CHINESE TNCs:

  • phenomenal growth
  • 40 Chinese TNCs in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2003
  • Most Chinese TNCs are not global 'brands'
  • A few are beginning to be known worldwide
  • The internal market in China is huge that many Chinese companies do not need to expand yet
• AFRICA-EXPORTABLE CULTURE:

  • Increased flow of FDI into Africa, especially sub-Saharan
  • Focussed on oil rich and mineral rich countries
  • importing Chinese workers to build key infrastructure such as ports, roads and rails to export raw materials
  • China gives increasing amounts of aid to Africa, often targeting key infrastructure projects
• Doomsday Clock:

  • 1947-2023
  • The higher points on the graph represent a higher probability of technologically- or environmentally - induced capacity
  • The lower points represent a lower probability
• Modernisation Theory:

  Main Points

  • The economies of developed countries move through 5 stages of economic development
  • All countries follow the same linear pathway
  • Advocated a democratic capitalist society
  • Influential in encouraging developing countries to create preconditions for take off
  • Development can be achieved when a country has high industrial outputs and export goods to the worlds economies
• Modernisation Theory:

  Weaknesses:

  • Outdated and Eurocentric
  • Some stages may overlap or merge
  • Suggests the end points of the development is the same for all and known at the beginning
  • Ecological limits to growth
• Modernisation:

  Superpowers used to explain this:

  • USA
  • British Empire
• Modernisation Theory:

  Which superpowers do not conform to this:

  • smaller countries without a large natural resource base e.g Rwanda
  • China and Asian tiger- combined western capitalism and traditional culture
• Dependency Theory:

  Main points:

  • Core (wealthy states) and periphery of undeveloped states (3rd world)
  • resources are extracted by the core from the periphery to sustain their economic wealth
  • countries become wealthy by exploiting the poorest nations
• Dependency theory:

  Weaknesses:

  • TNCs->FDI->multiplier effect
• Dependency Theory:

  Superpowers that conform:

  • British Empire
  • Modern day EU and USA
  • China in Africa