Deck 42 - Superpowers EQ3

Question 1

Why are resources contested?

Answer 1

• the land border between to countries is in dispute (e.g. India and Pakistan over Kashmir)
• the ownership of a landmass is in dispute (Argentina’s claim to the UK governed Falkland Islands continental offshore oil and gas)
• the extent of a nations offshore exclusive economic zone is in dispute of claimed by another nation. (Artic with several nations claiming ownership over the valuable oil and gas reserves there)

Question 2

Why is buying physical resources not preferable for superpowers?

Answer 2

• resources can be set at very high prices
• trading with unfriendly regimes or ones that are politically unstable
• during conflict trade routes and supply can be blocked or stopped.

Question 3

What is a countries exclusive economic zone?

Answer 3

The areas of ocean extending 200 nautical miles behind the coastline (or to edge of congenital shelf), over which a nation controls the sea and submarine resources. They are decided in the UN in the event of a dispute.

Question 4

How can nations acquire their own natural resources?

Answer 4

• invasion and conquest of another countries territory
• claiming offshore resources by extending a countries EEZ.

Question 5

What is an example of gaining natural resources through invasion?

Answer 5

Russia annexation of Crimea:
- 2014 Russia invaded and took control of Crimea (Ukraine) due to fear of Ukraine joining NATO
- It slowed Russia to controls its Russian naval base, prevent the loss of land physical resources (land and port)
- invade again in 2022 in attempt to control three of Russia’s main oil pipelines to Europe

Question 6

What an example of disputes over EEZ for resources?

Answer 6

Artic ocean:
- the huge oil and gas reserves may exist under the Artic Ocean (30% of the worlds undiscovered)
- the areas in beyond the EEZ of Canada, USA, Russia and Denmark meaning they are all claiming EEZ extension to gain control
C > currently their is no actual drilling for resources in the Artic due to environmental and political concerns

Question 7

What is intellectual property rights?

Answer 7

Run by the World Intellectual Property organisation (part in UN). It is the rights given to a person/company over their own innovation or creation.

Question 8

Why is IP rights important?

Answer 8

• without IP innovation and ideas can be stolen and used by others reducing innovation and creating.
• countries would be reluctant to trade, as intellectual property could be stolen or copied.

Question 9

How can IP rights create tensions and conflicts?

Answer 9

Intellectual Property theft, counterfeiting and industrial espionage can strain trade relationships and cause conflicts.
- counterfeit good normally unsafe so out consumers at risk
- total losses for $400-600 billion
- lack of action by Chinese government may suggest that they are less likely to cooperate in other issues of international law

Question 10

Why does the undermining of IP property rights strain trade TNCs investment.

Answer 10

TNCs may limit investment in China if they fear IP theft.
(22 fake apple stores found in China in 2011, 70% of the worlds counterfeit goods originate in China)

Question 11

Why does counterfeiting IP property led to stained trade relationships?

Answer 11

trade agreement are limited if one country is know to not ‘play by the rules’

Question 12

What is a sphere of influence?

Answer 12

A sphere od influence is an area of territory beyond a countries national borders, over which it believes it has economic, military, cultural and political rights without having a formal authority.

Question 13

Why can conflict occur over spheres of influence?

Answer 13

• balance of power changes (Pakistan gaining nuclear weapon putting on par with India in terms of military capability’s)
• disputed territories visited by high level official
• military ‘sabre rattling’ (flying jets or sailing naval vessels close to a disputed territory (China and USA in south and east China seas)
• new resources are discovered of suspected (new possibility of oil in water off the Falkland Islands governed by UK but claimed by Argentina)

Question 14

The south and east China seas

Answer 14

China is actively trying to expand its sphere of influence, trying to gain complete control the ocean from its coast to the first island chains. It’s doing this by island settling and artifices island building and then adding military facilities (2014 constructed as island on Fiery Cross Reef). This is being contested by USA (due to military allies with Japan, North Korea and Philippines).

Question 15

Why is China’s actions in the south’s den East China Sea having implications/conflicts?

Answer 15

• arguably island building is a direct attack in UN Law of the Sea as constructive happening in areas that are disputed
• China is challenging US naval and air hegemony in the area and has begun to question the rights if US ships and aircraft to sail and fly in the disputed areas

Question 16

What are example of spheres of influence resulting in open conflict?

Answer 16

Western Russia/Eastern Europe:
Russia believes it has a sphere of influence over Eastern Europe including Ukraine and Georgia ect. Moves to join the EU and NATO angered Russia leading in to invade parts of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014

Question 17

Why can there said to be an unfair relationship with developing countries?

Answer 17

This can be said when there are relationships based on
- neo-colonialism
- unfair in terms of trade (cheap primary goods fro developing compared to manufacturing exports for developing)
- drain drain of skilled workers from developing countries
- local wealthy elites (control imports and exports and benefit from the neocolonial relationship)

Question 18

What has the developing tie between emerging powers and the developed world led to?

Answer 18

• increased interdependence
• generation of environmental impacts
• opportunities and challenges

Question 19

Why are there newly formed relationship between emerging nations and low incomes countries?

Answer 19

LIC countries are starting to have a new relationship with emerging powers, by becoming major trading partners and sources of FDI. This could led to significant impacts on trade patterns and geopolitical alliances.
e.g. Chinas interest in Africa. China interest in based on exploiting Africas abundance and undeveloped physical resources. (Copper ores in Zambia, Crude oil in Sudan and Chad)

Question 20

How has the relationship between China and Africa led to opportunities?

Answer 20

• created greater levels of interdependence (Chinas reliance on Africa for oil ect growing Africas economy)
• Trade relationship not Neo-colonism
• China has investment majorly into infrastructure (HEP, railways ect)
• China- Africa trade worth $200 billion in 2016

Question 21

How has the relationship between China and Africa led to challenges?

Answer 21

• countries without natural resources excluded
• many jobs done by Chinese migrant labour
• led to mining and oil exploitation risk causing high amounts of deforestation, oil spills and water pollution
• cheap Chinese imported goods undercut some local African producers
• Africas model in still cheap raw material exports, and expensive manufactured exports

Question 22

What has the rising economic importance of Asian countries led to?

Answer 22

• increased geopolitical influence of the region
• creates economic and poetical tensions within the region

Question 23

How has the rising economic importance of Asian countries led to increased geopolitical influence over the region?

Answer 23

The rising economic importance of China and India cannot be denied with
- India and China represent 36% of worlds population, 18% global GDP and 32% CO2 emissions
- members of the G20

Question 24

How has the rising economic importance of China and India led to economic and political tensions?

Answer 24

• Ideological rivals (Indias world largest democracy, China is a communist dictatorship)
• share a border with certain parts being disputed (Tawang)
• China fostered a strong economic alliance with Pakistan but India and Pakistan have tense relations
• China has a larger economy as India has large trade deficit (imports more than exports)

Question 25

What will the future look like between India and China?

Answer 25

Asia will soon be a dominate global regions will protection demonstrating Asia will largest economy (GDP) and the most populous - this gives them significant means to gain military power and a seat on the UN security council - China and India vying for superpower status by 2030

Question 26

Why is the middle east an area of high tensions?

Answer 26

- religion (Most of the region being muslim but Sunni and Shia sectors create conflicts within and between countries) - resources (rich is fossil fuels but short in water and fair land leading to territorial conflicts) - oil and gas (65% of oil exports, reserves being fought over) - governance (relatively new states with weak or no democracy) - rise in the extremist group Islamic state in Iraq and Syria creating wars, terrorism and a refugee crisis

Question 27

How has complex geopolitical relationships create ongoing challenges in the Middle East?

Answer 27

Contrasting cultural ideologies (Western capitalism, The muslim world and Asia) create differing attitudes towards religion, trade, women ect makign geopolitical relationships tricky e.g. Destabilising terrorist groups (ISIS in Syria and Taliban in Afghanistan)

Question 28

Why do existing superpowers face ongoing challenges, threading their power?

Answer 28

- economic problems (dept, unemployment, economic restructuring, social costs) - economic costs of maintaining a global military power (naval, nuclear, air power and intelligence) - future balance of global power in 2030 and 2050

Question 29

What is economic restructuring?

Answer 29

The shift from primary and secondary industry towards tertiary and quaternary industry and a result of deindustrialised.

Question 30

How has economic restructuring led to challenges for superpowers?

Answer 30

The global shift has created deindustrialization in the EU and USA leading to loss of manufacturing jobs to emerging countries through globalisation led to a pool of middle-aged low skilled workforce, which rely on social security payments from the government.

Question 31

How is dept creating problem in the EU and USA?

Answer 31

- EU High levels of dept (9.7 trillion euros) in 2016, 90% of annual GDP. - USA has national dept of $19 trillion, as US dollar the global currency less vulnerable to economic shocks Dept creates a drag on economic growth, and diverts money away from services (education and health)

Question 32

How are social costs causing problems for the EU and USA?

Answer 32

- Rising life expectancy and low north rates has led to an ageing population in many cases - causes care homes, nursing and pension costs to rise which is being paid by a shrinking working age population, e.g. EU population rising fast by 2025 20% of population of 65, USA is ageing less fast with these social costs tend to be borne by individuals so have less of an impact

Question 33

Why are the economic costs of global military power being questioned?

Answer 33

In order to maintain a global military in comes as a huge economic cost with USA spending 3.3% of its GDP on defence and the UK spending 0.7% of its GDP on foreign aid (soft power). With the rising social costs, it is questioned on whether the spending on military power and space exploration is necessary. It is argued that to maintain superpowers touts these spending are necessary however the money could be spend on welling of th populations and improvement of services. (13% of Americans live on poverty)

Question 34

Why are emerging countries not experiencing the same finical cost of current superpowers?

Answer 34

- lower labour costs, lower salaries - increase their military power through copying technologies that were initially developed (at high cost) by the USA

Question 35

Why is the future balance of power unknown?

Answer 35

This challenges faced by current superpowers are creating opportunities for India and China, allowing them to pull level with the USA and EU because of the ongoing and long term nature of these issues.

Question 36

What are the possible future scenarios?

Answer 36

- Unipolar (The USA remains the single, dominant global power) - Bi-polar (China and US both acknowledged as dominant global powers) - multi-polar (USA and EU decline relative in power to the emerging BRICS) - Asian century (Unipolar) (economic, social and political problems reduce the power of the EU and USA creating a power shift to Asia led by China)

Question 37

What will be effect by the possible future scenarios?

Answer 37

Stability > multipolar mosaic is the most unstable will competing and complex alliances, no global police. A new 'Cold War' could led to periods of instability Resources > Unipolar power of China led to high resources demands combined with the resource demands of the West risking shortages and unrest/conflict military > new arms race likely to develop in Cold War scenario will China expanding in global reach, USA diverting resources from social progress back into military power. Economics > Asian Century scenario led to a economic shift, with economic wellbeing reliant on NEEs in Asia.

Question 38

What are the predictions fro 2030?

Answer 38

- smiler world as today will China unlikely to become a global political leader by 2030 - Per capita income with still be higher in USA, China will still be the in the processes of becoming a fully developed country

Question 39

What are the predictions fro 2050?

Answer 39

- Massive growth of both China and India and other BRIC nations - USA social, economic and political issues resulting in a decline and will have sillier levels to power and influence to China

Question 40

Why are there uncertainties over future superpower structures?

Answer 40

- Will the EU become stagnate (ageing population, social costs) or renew itself and grow - Will Russia will high oil and gas reserves and its huge military Arsenal will remain important (unlikely to be a global leader) - How will demographic issues create change in EU, USA and even China