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superpowers EQ1 numero dos- Hard and soft power 😘 - Coggle Diagram
superpowers EQ1 numero dos- Hard and soft power
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Hard Power vs Soft Power
Power can be measured on a continuum of hard and soft power.
Soft power
-Soft power is where a country expresses its influence through its economic, political, moral or cultural influence. It does not physically enforce anything in another country.
-An example of soft power by America is its cultural exports from its global media TNCS. In 2017, France topped the soft power ranking of one particular organisation. This is because of the popularity of its president who supports the EU, France’s membership to many IGOs and France’s rich culture.
-Globalisation seems to be making soft power more and more important.
Examples of soft power
-A 2019, Department for Education meeting in the UK discussed the importance of soft power when mentioning the UK's universities.
-In the 1857, Hotta Masayoshi, a Japanese minister wrote that Japan should 'conduct trade, and copy foreigners...to foster strength and gradually subject the foreigners to our influence until our hegemony is acknowledged throughout the globe'.
Hard power
-Hard power is where a country expresses its influence through coercive measures. This can be economic sanctions or military force or threat.
-Hard power is becoming less common. Countries are beginning to use economic sanctions instead of military force.
-Currently, China performs better in terms of its military size ( a sign of potential hard power) than it does in measures of soft power. This could change over time and Chinese funding for African infrastructure seems to be an attempt to shift this.
-For example, the UK and USA imposed sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program rather than using force.
Patterns of Power - Colonial
Patterns of power change over time and can be uni (one power), bi (two powers) or multi (lots of powers). In the imperial era, nations (or superpowers) directly controlled other nations or colonies.
The British Empire
-At the time, British people believed that they were right to colonise these regions. They believed this because land gave them power and they could take raw materials from these colonies to use in their own manufacturing.
-Britain generally exerted hard power. In 1919, at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, around 380 Indian protesters were killed by British forces.
Hard power
-Although many colonies were taken without force, colonial power was maintained with hard power.
-In the 21st century, some people argue that a form of colonialism still exists through neo-colonialism (and institutions like the IMF and World Bank).
-Neo-colonialism is where less-developed countries are still indirectly controlled by superpowers through economic, cultural or political methods. However, this is softer power than the power used in the colonial era.
Multi-polar world
-During the colonial era, there were lots of powers.
-France, the Netherlands, Britain, Spain and Portugal were the main colonial powers.
-This period of time extended up to 1939.
-Lots of different superpowers influenced different regions. The British Empire was the largest region controlled.
Patterns of Power - Bi-Polar World
After World War Two ended, a bi-polar world emerged with the USA and USSR as the two global powers. This era saw indirect control and soft power become more important. The competition between the two superpowers created the Cold War.
Military control
-Both the US and USSR had nuclear weapons and large militaries.
-The USA maintained a huge military force. Although it was never used against the USSR in the Cold War, the threat was significant.
-The USSR had a large influence in Eastern Europe.
-As a result of the Cold War, two alliances formed in different regions of Europe.
-Those countries supporting the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
-Those countries supporting the USA formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)- which remains important today.
Economic control
-After 1945, most European countries faced severe economic problems as a result of their spending on the war.
-The USA set up the Marshall Plan where they gave $12bn of financial aid to European countries to help them rebuild war damage, promote economic development and prevent poverty.
-The belief was that through promoting economic development, the US would be able to stop the spread of communism. They believed that poverty was the root cause of communism.
Neo-colonialism
-As well as the Marshall Plan, The US also used strategies to extend its economic influence in Asia.
-It provided inward investment to countries such as Japan, Singapore and the Philippines to promote economic growth and stop the spread of communism.
-This influence is known as neo-colonialism and still continues today in different forms.
1 more item...
China - Soft Power
China is developing a lot of economic power internationally. It is funding the Silk Road transport network and is funding a large portion of African infrastructure (up to £40bn). It has funded:
756km railway in Ethiopia
1,400km coastal railway in nigeria
472km railway from Mombasa to Nirobi
Emerging Powers - BRICs
A number of emerging countries are increasingly important to global economic and political systems. The main emerging powers are the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
21st century challengers to the USA
-The 21st century has seen economic change as the BRICs emerge as major economies.
-Russia is re-emerging as a major economic power after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
-Many people believe that by 2050 the USA will no longer be a uni-polar and we will return to a multi-polar world- as last seen in the imperial era.
Gap vs the USA
-It is important to recognise however that each of these emerging nations has a long way to go before they are a genuine challenge to America’s status.
-For example, in 2014 the combined GDP of the BRIC was $16.4 trillion. This combined total is still about 8% less than that of the USA.
-The population of the USA in 2016 was 323 million. The BRICs had a combined population of 3.2 billion.
Global environmental governance
-As these emerging powers grow in size economically, their carbon emissions and contributions towards climate change are increasing too.
-At the last UN Climate Change Conference in Paris 2015, it was recognised that the BRIC nations would have to play their part in reducing carbon emissions if global targets were to be hit.
-The BRICs are increasingly important for global environmental governance.
Global carbon emissions
-Data from Greenpeace earlier this year showed that despite a global agreement to reduce carbon emissions, China’s carbon emissions are on track to rise at their fastest pace in more than 7 years during 2018.
-China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and their carbon emissions rose by 4% in the first part of this year.
-This shows that unless the BRIC nations, and particularly China, play their part in global environmental governance, targets are unlikely to be met.
Rivals to US Hegemony - China
In recent decades, China’s rapid economic growth has begun to challenge America’s power and influence. China is seeking to expand its own global influence through a number of different strategies- including its investment in Africa.
China's economic growth
-Between 2012 and 2017, China’s economic growth lifted 68.53 million people out of poverty. That’s a drop in the poverty rate from 10.2% to 3.4% in 5 years.
-VAt the end of 2010, China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy.
-Many people believe that China’s continued economic growth will see it become the world’s largest economy by 2050.
China relative to the USA
-However, China's economy is still a long way behind America's economy. In 2015, America accounted for 22.4% of global GDP whereas China accounted for 13.4% - a significant difference.
Will China overtake the USA?
-Nobody knows whether or not China will be able to sustain its economic growth throughout this century.
-Whilst it has seen significant progress, there are also lots of rising challenges for China that may mean it never fully rivals America for superpower status.
-It seems fair to categorise China as an emerging superpower.
China - Cultural, Demographic and Environmental
China's cultural, demographic and environmental characteristics may help it to surpass the USA's economic strength.
Cultural characteristics*
-China doesn't have many global consumer brands.
-‘Western’ culture is largely American and China has limited elements of its culture that it exports to other countries.
-The only exception would be the popularity of Chinese food in Western countries.
-It remains to be seen whether or not this will change if China’s government relaxes the censorship of their population.
Demographic characteristics
-China’s huge population (1.4 billion) has been a key factor in its rise to superpower status
-With such a large population, it has been able to offer global TNCs low wage costs and hence become the ‘workshop of the world’.
-Its population is ageing rapidly without a growing younger population to support them.
-The fertility rate in China is now 1.57 births per woman- significantly below replacement level.
-How it will deal with the impacts of its ageing population will determine its superpower status.
Environmental characteristics
-China is the world’s largest CO2 emitter.
-China signed up to the Paris agreement in 2015 but their carbon emissions rose by 4% in the first half of 2018.
-Within China, severe pollution problems have been a major issue for the country in recent years.
-China still burns a lot of coal that is a dirty non-renewable energy source.
-The pollution was so severe in 2016 that schools were forced to have their PE lessons inside rather than exposing children to the fumes.
China - Economic, Political and Military
China's economic, military and political strengths and weaknesses could help it to become a global superpower or could inhibit its progress.
Economic characteristics
-Between 2012 and 2017, China’s economic growth lifted 68.53 million people out of poverty. That’s a drop in poverty rate from 10.2% to 3.4% in 5 years.
-China has the 2nd-largest economy in the world, but the USA accounted for 22.4% of global GDP in 2015 (vs China's 13.4%).
-China's population of over 1.4 billion people, means that its GDP is spread over lots more people than the USA. Its GDP per capita is only 10% of the USA's GDP per capita.
-Inequality in China has also increased in recent years. In 2012, it seemed to be 0.474, but some economists have argued it's higher and the data provided by the government is unreliable.
Political characteristics
-China was a Communist country ruled by Chairman Mao from the 1930s.
-It has moved away from its historically communist ideology but is still run by an authoritarian, one-party government. They have more capitalist and competitive markets now.
-Following the open-door policy of 1978 the country has become more globalized and has allowed more global TNCs into the country. But state-supported companies and industries still have lots of power.
Military characteristics
-In the 2018 Global Fire Power review, China was ranked 3rd behind the USA and Russia.
-China has the world’s largest army when looking at soldiers however its military does not have global reach.
-According to the Global Fire Power review, China has a total of 3,035 aircraft compared to 13,363 for the USA.
-Its navy is still relatively weak with only 1 aircraft carrier currently. The USA has 20.
-In the early 21st century China has concentrated on growing its navy to become a ‘blue water navy’. Some people think it can now claim that title.
-A blue water navy describes a navy with global reach.