Superpowers EQ1 Flashcards
(33 cards)
Superpower
A nation with the ability to project its influence anywhere and be a global dominant force.
Hyper power
An unchallenged superpower with complete global dominance.
Emerging power
Influence is growing usually have both strengths and weaknesses.
Regional power
Small and influence on a continental scale.
The 6 sources of power?
Economic Democratic Political Natural resources Cultural Military
What is the economic source of power?
Prerequisite of power.
Essential in maintaining military and development of people and accessing resources.
What is the military source of power?
Having access to nuclear weapons, blue water navy and a good airforce.
Help achieve goals by force and threats.
What is the cultural source of power?
Having an appealing ideology and values.
What is the natural resource source of power?
Access to fossil fuels and land change.
Also good education skills and health.
What is the political source of power?
Leading the way in diplomacy and influencing others.
What is Hard power?
Using force to essentially get your own way.
- military action/threat
- economic sanctions
- getting alliances to marginalise
What is soft power?
Power of persuasion and attractiveness.
- attract ideologies
- moral authority
What is economic power?
In between soft and hard.
- economic aid/development
- signing agreements to increase economic ties
What is smart power?
Combination between hard and soft.
How is smart power more effective?
- military action can be seen as unnecessary and risky therefore can loosing moral authority
- war is expensive
- military won’t always get results expected
- soft power alone is cheap but ideologies need to be attractive
- soft can spread easily
What power mechanisms were used in the past?
Large land area was seen as important to power.
Control of natural resources.
Military action was common.
What was the heartland theory and how was it influential?
Contained part of Eurasia.
Influential because:
-showed power was created by containment.
-reinforced the fact control of resources was essential.
Why and how have power mechanisms changed?
- trade means that control of natural resources no longer essential.
- war and conflict seen as abnormal but was once important in maintaining power.
- land area doesn’t matter as military resources(drones,missiles) make it easier to enter a country.
Examples of hard power still existing(2)
- gulf war 1991-2003 USA invaded Iraq to secure oil supplies and other things.
- Russia’s annexation of Crimea meant EU etc imposed economic sanctions on Russia.
What was an example of imperial power?
British empire - Britain controlled 25% land and 20% population
What does an empire rely on?
- businesses to exploit resources
- army to conquer and control
- navy to transport and protect
- ships to transport goods
- people to act as government to control
Why did colonies eventually end? (3)
Post WW2 reconstruction more important.
Too expensive to run.
Many anti-colonial protests for independence (eg. India)
Example of an indirect power?
The Cold War: Series of proxy wars - -Vietnam war -Cuban missile crisis -Korean war Many countries allied with either US or USSR
Uni-polar and evaluation
-dominated by one hyper power
Evaluation
-stable but cannot deal with everything at the same time and be everywhere
