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| Sunday, 31 July 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Superpowers of the world
Recently we featured an article about Group Eight (G8) countries. This week we will have a close look at the world's superpowers. First let us see what a superpower is. A superpower is a state with the ability to influence events or project power on a global scale. In modern terms, this may imply an entity with a huge economy, a large population, and strong armed forces, including air and space power and a considerable arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. How did the superpower concept originate? At the end of the Second World War, the United States of America (USA) emerged as one of the two dominant powers on the global scene. As the majority of the war was fought far from its national boundaries, it did not suffer the industrial destruction or massive civilian casualties which marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia. And, during the war, the U.S. had built up a strong industrial and technological infrastructure which had greatly advanced their military strength into a primary position. Following the war, much of Europe had also been occupied by another Allied power, the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin. Despite attempts to create multinational coalitions or legislative bodies (such as the United Nations), it became increasingly clear that both the USA and the USSR were the dominant political and economic powers of the newly emerging Cold War, and had very different visions about what the post war world ought to look like. The term "Superpower" was first used in this context in 1930, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, but did not pick up as a primarily descriptive term for the USA and USSR until the immediate post war years (in the 1920s the term was used to describe electrification). It implied that these two nations were part of an emerging bipolar world, in contrast with a previous multipolar world. Whether a true reflection or not, a number of nations undertook various programmes to guarantee their own independent "Superpower" status, such as the development of nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom, France, and China, as conscious attempts for military independence from the USA and USSR, as well as a rite of passage for being a "world player". The idea that the Cold War period revolved around only two nations, or even only two blocs, has been seriously challenged by scholars in the post-Cold War era, who have noted that the bipolar world only exists if one ignores all of the various movements and conflicts which occurred without influence from either of the two so-called Superpowers. Additionally, much of the conflict between the superpowers was fought in "proxy wars", which more often than not involved issues far more complex than the standard Cold War oppositions. After the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s, the term hyperpower has been applied to the United States as the sole remaining Superpower of the Cold War era. This term was coined by the French foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine in the 1990s. The validity of classifying the USA as a hyperpower is controversial. One notable opponent to this theory, Samuel P. Huntington, rejects this theory in favour of a multipolar balance of power. More on the existsing and emerging superpower nations of the world next week. *** Superpowers in history Although the term superpower is a recent one, the word has also been applied to previous military powers. The oldest superpower on the planet, and one which maintained this at various points in history, were the civilizations in Mesopotamia, with their unrivalled wealth, antiquity and cultural domination of Asia and beyond. The Roman Empire covered most of Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. Imperial China once had the world's largest navy, a record not broken until early 19th century. The Mongol Empire spanned from southeast Asia to Eastern Europe. In 16th and 17th centuries the Ottoman Empire stretched from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Persian Gulf and challenged the nations of Europe in its advances along its southeastern border. During its Siglo de Oro, Spain had possession of Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and many colonies in the Americas. After gaining independence from Spain, the Dutch Empire had territories all over the globe.At various times during its history France had the largest military in the world, with colonies in western Africa, North and South America and southeast Asia. At its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the British Empire covered a quarter of the Earth's land area and comprised a third of its population. It was said "The sun never sets on the British Empire." Not as clearly in this category are nations that gained unquestioned hegemony over a large neighbourhood at a time before global travel was a reality. Nations such as ancient Egypt, the Aztec Empire, the Persian Empire, and the short- lived Greek/Macedonian empire under Alexander the Great could in one sense be considered early superpowers, at least for a time when an understanding of what is meant by "the world" was much smaller than it is today. **** Criteria defining the status of a superpower - Superior economic power, characterised by access to raw materials, volume and productivity of the domestic market, a leading position in world trade as well as global financial markets, innovation and the ability to accumulate capital. - A large population, high level of education, well-developed infrastructure and a pronounced cultural and economic ability to shape as well as absorb a variety of things. - Pre-eminent military ability, characterized by relative invulnerability, the ability to deter or cause great damage and project military might globally. - Possessing an attractive social and value system as well as evidence of the ability to lead and impose order in a state's regional environment. - Having a functioning political system capable of mobilizing resources for world political goals, the potential to build alliances or establish linkages with capable partners. - The existence of a political consensus on a concept of world order and the preparedness to be engaged in international forums. |
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