superpowers Flashcards
(18 cards)
superpower definition
-a country with the ability to project its dominating power and influence anywhere in the world eg. USA
hyperpower definition
-an unchallenged superpower eg british empire
geostrategic theory definition
-idea that controlling certain areas of land can make a country strategically stronger and have a greater influence over other nations
hard power definition
-power through military or economic force aimed at forcing a country to act in a particular way eg. military invasion or economic sanctions
soft power definition
power through persuasion of countries to act in a particular way on the basis that the persuading country is respected and has appealing culture and ideologies eg. political persuasion (diplomacy or development aid) or cultural influence
6 superpower characteristics
- economic power
- political power
- military power
- cultural influence
- demographic
- access to natural resources
unipolar world definition
one superpower dominates the world eg. british empire
bipolar world definition
2 superpowers that have opposing ideologies contest each others influence and power eg. cold war era between USSR and USA
multipolar world definition
where multiple superpowers and emerging powers are influencing other countries, often within the geographical region they are in
colonisation definition
- when one country takes control of another country or territory, often by force
-control is then reinforced by the colonising country settling the colony with its own people and cultural ideas
neocolonialism definition
use of economic, political and cultural power to gain and maintain indirect control over developing powers eg. china in africa
modernisation theory
-5 stages all countries go through as they develop
1. traditional society
2. pre-conditions for take off
3. take off
4. drive to maturity
5. high mass consumption
-used to explain the dominance of the british empire and USA
-only explains economic development, not the political and cultural characteristics needed to become a superpower
dependency theory
-believes development is a set of relationships between developed (core economies) and developing countries (periphery economies)
-core provides periphery w manufactured goods, aid, fdi and political/cultural ideas
-periphery provides the core with raw materials, cheap products and labour
world systems theory
-expansion on dependency theory
-makes it more dynamic and showing how countries can move between regions over time as they move through periods of development and decline
influence of TNCs on the global economic system
- can invest in research and development so innovation = high levels of income from patents
- can dominate markets = high levels of profits, especially for some countries which have little choice but to trade as they cannot locally produce products eg. pharmaceutical drugs
- offshoring and outsourcing - led to mass umemployment in developed countries but high levels of employment for developing countries - high profits for TNCs due to lower labour costs and access to raw materials
- westernisation - TNCs create global brands that become known worldwide
UN security council
-group of 15 countries - 5 permanent and 10 rotating members - that aims to maintain international peace and security by reacting to outbreaks of conflict
-member countries vote on deploying UN peacekeeping forces or apply sanctions to a country that has started a conflict eg. removing country from trade deals or banning them from sports competitions
international court of justice
-UN main judicial body that settles disputes between UN member countries and provides legal advice to the UN
-deals w cases on national levels, not for individuals
economic and social problems faced by the USA and EU
- EUs GDP decline - due to lower GDP countries eg. hungary and poland joining the EU
- economic restructuring (shift from sec to ter industries) led to sig job losses
- ageing pops - increasing dependency ratios
- struggle to attract investment - higher wages means TNCs are increasingly expanding their businesses into other regions
- energy insecurity - reliance on other countries supplying them w energy through fossil fuels, weakening their power status
