Geopolitical Power (Edexcel A Level Geography)

• A superpower is a nation which is able to project its influence and be dominant on a global scale 
• The patterns of power across the world change over time
  • Uni-polar world means there is only one superpower
  • Bi-polar world exists when there are two superpowers
  • Multi-polar world means there are multiple superpowers
• The USA and USSR became superpowers after World War II. Before this, the superpowers were the British Empire and the USA
• Currently the USA is the only superpower therefore the world is uni-polar
• The USA is also referred to as a hyperpower or hegemon meaning that it is dominant in all aspects of power

Emerging superpowers

• The EU is a group of nations which qualifies as an emerging superpower
• There are a number of nations which are regarded as emerging superpowers including the BRIC nations:
  • Brazil
  • Russia
  • India
  • China

Regional powers 

• These are nations which exert power and influence over other countries in the region including:
  • South Africa in Africa
  • France, Germany and the UK in Europe

Factors affecting superpower status

• There are a number of factors which affect whether a nation has superpower status
• Several of the factors are listed below but there are many characteristics within these and they are all linked 

Factors affecting superpower status

Resources 

• Access to resources such as minerals and metals 
• Control of resources
• These can be sold and exported which supports economic growth
  
  • Discovery of oil and gas in the Middle East has given OPEC countries economic power

Size and geographical position

• This links to resources, the larger a country the more resources it may have
  • Russia has significant reserves of coal, oil and gas
• The geographical position of a country impacts its links and influence over other countries

Economic factors

• The economic status of a country is what many of the other factors are based on as it influences areas such as 
  • Military strength
  • Ability to exploit resources
  • Cultural influence
  • Political strength
• Economic strength is measured in terms of
  • Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
    
    • US GDP per capita in 2022 is US$68,615 compared to China US$21,804
  • High levels of international trade
  • The currency is used as a reserve currency and is regarded as 'safe' for investment
    • Over 60% of international trade transactions are in US$
  • Influence on global economics through membership of International Governmental Organisations (IGOs) and trading blocs such as European Union (EU)
  • High levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
    • The USA has the highest global inflow of FDI at US$86 billion

Demographic factors

• The size and structure of the population
• Large populations provide a large workforce which can support economic growth
  • China and India's large populations have been key to their economic growth
  • Large diaspora and more workers in large companies increases the country's influence around the world
• Populations with a large working age population supports economic growth
• A large dependent population (e.g. ageing population of Japan) may have a negative impact on economic growth
• Population size also impacts on the military strength of a country

Political power

• A country's ability to affect the decisions of other countries, this could be:
  • As part of international organisations
  • Through negotiations between different country's politicians and heads of state
• This can be the result of economic (e.g OPEC countries) or military power which gives countries more influence over other countries
• Superpowers and emerging superpowers have key roles in international organisations such as NATO, UN, The World Bank and IMF
  • Some organisations have weighted votes so some countries have more votes than others

Military strength

• The reach of a country's military is key to the level of power they have:
  • A global reach means that the military can be used to achieve geopolitical goals

• The size and power of the military is dependent on a number of factors:
  • The size and age of the population to maintain the size of the military
  • Defence spending on the military - personnel, technology and weapons
• Superpowers and emerging powers have:
  • Large military forces
  • Nuclear weapons
  • Export arms 
  • Influential roles in international military organisations such as NATO 

Cultural influence

• The ability of a country to influence the beliefs, values, customs, lifestyle and ideologies of other countries
• Influence can be achieved through:
  • The media - films, tv, music, radio, internet, art
  • Transnational companies introducing foods
  • Migrant populations who bring food, dress, religious beliefs, music 

• Maintenance of power is achieved utilising hard and soft powers
  • These sit on a spectrum, meaning that the methods are somewhere on a scale between two extremes

The Spectrum of Hard and Soft Powers

Hard powers

• Use economic and military power to try and force countries to behave in a certain way. These include:
  • Economic - trade deals, sanctions 
    • Sanctions have been imposed on Russia to try and deter them from their invasion of Ukraine
    • US sanctions imposed on Iran in an attempt to stop the development of nuclear weapons, the sanctions have caused the cost of living to increase and inflation rates to reach 50%
  • Military - use of force, threats of force or military action, the forming of military alliances
    • The invasion of Iraq in 1991 in response to the invasion of Kuwait  
    • The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 following the bombing of the Twin Towers in the USA

Soft powers

• Use political and cultural influence to try and persuade countries to behave in a certain way: These include:
  • Political (diplomacy) - use of persuasion through ambassadors, high ranking politicians, heads of state 
  • Cultural - makes policies and way of life attractive and appealing, promotes the beliefs and ideologies of the superpower(s)

Top Ten Global Soft Powers

2023 Ranking	Country
1	United States
2	UK
3	Germany
4	Japan
5	China
6	France
7	Canada
8	Switzerland
9	Italy
10	UAE

• The UK has consistently ranked as one of the top soft power nations in the world, (in 2022 ranking 2nd) this is due to:
  • Diplomacy
    • The UK has 281 diplomatic posts in 178 countries and territories
    • Relationships have been built over many years through the existence of the Commonwealth and the former countries of the British Empire
    • The popularity of the royal family and their role in diplomacy and maintaining international relations
  • Culture - British culture is world renown including:
    • British literature - Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen 
    • Music - Elgar through the Beatles to Adele,
    • Art - from Constable to Barbara Hepworth
    • The BBC is one of the world's most trusted broadcasters
    • Television - Downtown Abbey and The Crown have worldwide popularity (73 million people watched The Crown and Downtown Abbey is viewed in 250 countries)
    • Over 500,000 overseas students study in the UK each year - 1 in 4 countries around the world have a head of state or government who was educated in the UK
    • The British Council reaches over 100 million people in 100 countries

Smart power

• In 2003 Joesph Nye used the term 'Smart power' to demonstrate that effective foreign policy and maintenance of power needs the use of both hard and soft powers 

• Over time the importance of the mechanisms for maintaining power have changed
• The overall shift has been from the use of hard power to the use of soft power
• Historically military force and power were frequently used to gain and maintain power over other nations
• Power was strongly linked to military dominance.

Mackinder's 'Heartland Theory'

• In 1904 Halford Mackinder proposed the 'Heartland theory'
• Based on the premise that most of the world's natural resources are to be found in Asia and Europe 
• The 'heartland' is an area bordered by mountains on three sides and the Arctic to the north 
  • This makes it difficult to invade

• The 'heartland' is surrounded by the inner crescent area which includes China, India and the rest of Europe
• Mackinder argued that the nation controlling the heartland would gain control over the rest of the world
• This influenced world policy as the USA and many European countries believed that Russia needed to be controlled to prevent it achieving dominance
• Mackinder stated that the position of the 'heartland' could change
• There have been a number of changes over the last 150 years
• The theory is based on geo-locational importance
• Geo-locational importance has declined as technology and transportation have increased