How do countries gain power and extend influence globally?

• Alice Lyman Miller’s definition of super power


  A country that has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world, and sometimes, in more than one region of the globe at a time
• criteria for superpower status

  Politicoeconomic power

  military power

  cultural power

  geographic influence and resources
• What does politicoeconomic power include?

  population size and age (workforce), access to market and trade, debt/foreign reserves, ideology (capitalism, communism), rolling international government organisations, aid, foreign policy, TNCs
• what does military power include?

  weapons and air force, military bases, naval fleets, military aid, nuclear weapons
• what does cultural power mean?

  Cultural hegemony, dominant political systems, dominant economic systems, religion
• what does geographic influence and resources include?

  Geographical reach/size, access to natural resources, location, extent of influence over neighbours
• gaining power- British empire

  -creation of trading ports and exploration

  -Strengthening of roots meant countries along the route were taken over

  -by the end of the 19th century more than half of the world trade was financed with British pounds
• Opium and the British empire

  For 300 years, China had been closed off from international TEA trade

  Britain managed to trade opium for tea getting around around 12 million Chinese peasants addicted

  Chinese Emperor sees more than 1000 tons in 1839, causing conflict the British won
• 1861, David Livingstone 


  -travelled up the river Shire (now malawi )

  -saw people being sold by Portuguese and Arab slavers

  -David made it have mission to abolish slavery

  -What spread to England and the ideas of the Empire change from dominance and power, to good and justice