6GEO3 Unit 3 Contested Planet

Topic 4: Superpower Geographies

What is this topic about?

• The superpowers, and

emerging powers, are the most
powerful and wealthy nations
• They have both economic and
political power, often globally
• Power and wealth shift over
time and this topic explores
these changes
• Changing patterns of power
have global implications, which
need to be explored and
The New York Stock Exchange,
understood.
a global power centre
 CONTENTS
1. Who are the superpowers?
2. The role of Superpowers
3. Superpower futures

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 1. Who are the superpowers?
• Superpowers are countries, or
grouping of countries, with global
influence and power
• They have economic, cultural,
military and geo-political influence
• Economic wealth (see graph) is only
one aspect of superpower status
• One way to group the world's most
powerful is:
 The geography of power
• In terms of superpower status, size
is not everything 2008/09 data Total Total
Population military
• Some ‘demographic superpowers’ (millions) spending
($ billions)
have relatively little economic China 1,334 84
power India 1,174 30
EU 500 280
• Military spending (see table) is one USA 308 607
form of power, as it allows Indonesia 231 4
Brazil 192 15
superpowers such as the USA to Pakistan 168 4
have global military reach Bangladesh 162 1
Nigeria 154 1
• The USA is a highly influential Russia 141 59
Japan 127 46
power in economic, military, Mexico 107 4
geopolitical and cultural terms Gulf States 40 40

• Only the EU comes close to the

Use a data website such as
influence of the USA, but the EU is www.wri.org to experiment
a federation of 27 nation states with ranking power and status
who do not always agree using different data types
 Changing patterns of power
• Superpowers shift over time; the Uni-polar world of the British Empire gave way to the Bi-polar cold war
world
• In 1990, as the USSR collapsed, a new USA dominated Uni-polar world was ushered in; the EU has grown
to be increasingly powerful also
• Many people think the future will be a more complex, fragmented and regional multi-polar world
• It is important to recognise that power can decline as well as grow
 The BRICs and emerging powers
• The BRICs (Brazil, China Communist one-party state which has become the ‘workshop of
the world’; rapid economic growth based on manufacturing
Russia, India and and trade; significant military and demographic power
China) are the
emerging super powers Russia Russia is what is left of the USSR; it has a huge nuclear
weapons arsenal, and vast oil and gas reserves making it
• Mexico and the Gulf globally important. It has an ageing, unhealthy population and
States could lay claim weak economy.

to be in this group also India
• This group of countries
is very different, with
perhaps only China Brazil
capable of challenging
the USA in the near
future. Mexico
A huge, and very youthful, population give India enormous
potential for growth. It has some world class industry such as
IT, but very poor infrastructure and 100s millions of very poor
people
Increasingly influential in Latin America, with a strong,
diversified economy and growing middle class. It tends to
punch below its weight internationally. It is sometimes
referred to as an ‘agricultural superpower’.
An influential country with strong ties to the USA; Mexico’s
economy is often shaky and it has problems with crime and
corruption.

Gulf Increasingly important in terms of remaining global oil and gas

reserves; has attempted to diversify and become a hub
States between Europe and Asia, with some success.
 Superpower theory
• There are several theories which help explain
the rise and pattern of superpowers
• WW Rostow’s ‘Take Off’ model
(modernisation theory) is often used to
illustrate how countries move from relative
underdevelopment, to a state of high mass
consumption
• Not all countries have managed to
industrialise and develop
• AG Frank’s Dependency Theory argues that
this is because the developed countries
(superpowers and emerging powers) maintain
the developing world in a ‘state of
underdevelopment’, draining it of:
Human capital (‘brain drain’)
Resources (minerals, ores, food)
• This helps maintain the developed world’s
lifestyle, cheaply
• The BRICs, and NICs, have
developed in recent decades
• This suggests some countries
have broken free from
dependency and developed in
the way Rostow’s model
suggests
• Immanuel Wallerstein’s World
Systems Theory seeks to model
this ‘three sided world’:
Date and Cycle Technology Location
• Wallerstein’s ideas are partly 1770-1850 Industrial Cotton, steam engines UK
Revolution
related to the economic theory 1850-1920 Industrialization Rail, steam ships, iron Increased
of Supercycles (Kondratiev and steel, involvement of
Europe and USA
waves – see table) 1920-1945 Motorization Petrochemicals, cars,
electricity
Increasing
dominance of the
• These suggest economic growth 1945– 1990 Cold war era
USA
White goods, consumer Rise of Japan and
passes through phases based on goods Asian Tigers
1990 onwards Internet, wireless, Shifts in production
key new technologies biotechnology toward India and
China
• These new technologies bring 2020 onwards? ???? Asia?

growth to particular
geographical regions
 2. The role of Superpowers
• In the past, superpowers such as the
British Empire and other Imperial
powers maintained direct control over
territories
• This era of colonialism ended in the
period 1945-1980 when colonies gained
independence
• A characteristic of a superpower is the
ability to take control, through war, of
troublesome regions believed to
threaten superpower security
• Whilst rare, superpowers still take
direct military control over territory:
Invasion of Afghanistan 1980, USSR

Invasion of Panama 1989, USA

First Gulf War (Kuwait, Iraq) 1990, USA, UK, Egypt , Saudi Arabia and
others
Bombing of Bosnia 1995, NATO

War in Afghanistan 2001, NATO led coalition

 Neo-colonialism?
• Left-wing geographers argue that
superpowers use subtle, indirect
ways to maintain power today
• These ways are often termed neo-
colonialism
• Aid is often given to allies and
‘friends’ rather than the most needy
countries (see table), and much aid is
‘tied’ in various ways.
• Debt repayments channel money Top 10 2006 ($
Recipients of millions) Note the total lack of
from the developing to the developed USA foreign overlap between the
aid most indebted
world Israel 2,520 nations and the top
Egypt 1,795 10 receivers of US
• Even debt relief schemes, such as the Columbia 558 aid.

HIPC scheme (see map) have been Jordan 461

Pakistan 698
criticised Peru 133
Indonesia 158
• For HIPC countries to qualify for debt Kenya 213
Bolivia 122
relief, they must follow the economic Ukraine 115
policies of bankers in the developed
world
 International Trade
• The world trade system is essential a western ‘free trade’ one
• The USA and EU have been very influential at the World Trade
Organisation in the past
• The World’s three major stock markets (London, New York and
Tokyo) are all in the ‘west’
• In a globalised world, TNCs play a crucial role in world trade, and
most TNCs originate in the EU and USA
• Emerging superpowers, especially China, have taken advantage of
global trade to develop and grow
 International decision making
• Global decision making revolves
around inter-governmental
organisation (IGOs)
• Some IGOs involve all nations,
such as the U.N. – others are more
exclusive such as the G8, or
regional such as NATO.
• Membership and voting rights may
give key players disproportionate
power.
• Some influential organisations
such as the World Economic
Forum (Davos Group) are not-for-
profit organisations outside
government control.
• IGOs do change over time; the
G20 has become more influential
in recent years, reflecting the
increasing power of the BRICs
 Cultural influence
• Superpowers exert a cultural
influence – the widespread
use of English, tea drinking
Fast food, Coca-
and cricket are a cultural cola, rock music
legacy of the British Empire on the juke box in
this American
• Today, the most influential
dream diner
culture is that of the USA
• ‘Americanisation’ suggests
that this culture is
spreading. This spread is
Is ‘Mcdonaldisation’ or ‘Cocacolonisation’ a
made easier by: positive or negative development?
1. Global brands and logos The issue tends to be divisive; some anti-
globalisation campaigners accuse the USA of
2. The Global media e.g. cultural imperialism, and blame US consumer
Disney and CNN culture for the erosion of local cultural
traditions. On the other hand, many Chinese see
3. Globalised transport and
Americanisation as positive, as it shows progress
communications connections and development.
4. American based TNCs
5. Widespread use of English
 3. Superpower futures
• As the primary emerging superpower, China has much to
gain from its growing global status
• Poverty reduction in China (see graph) has been
staggering
• China has become motorised, with over 170 million
vehicles at the end of 2008; some estimates suggest
there were only 3000 cars in Beijing in 1978
• Inequality in China is a growing issue, although in general
the population is much better off
• In Brazil and India there is a growing middle class of
consumers
• In India by 2009 there were 500 million mobile phones in
use and over 700 million in China
 Superpower resources

• Growth, wealth and the status

that accompanies it brings new
problems to the emerging
powers.
• Chief among these is pollution;
as resources consumption and
eco-footprints grow, so does
pollution .

Almost 70% of China’s energy

comes from coal
Acid rain is a serious
problem, as is water pollution • What if eco-footprints in the BRICs
and urban air pollution; in (see graph) begin to approach
2004 25,000km of Chinese those of the developed world?
rivers failed water quality
standards
 Declining superpowers?

• The emergence of the BRICs

does challenge the hegemony
of the USA
• The USA is not about to enter
precipitous decline, but its
influence may lessen
• There is evidence that the
BRICs are catching up, as the
number of largest TNCs based
in the USA falls, but rises in the
BRICs (see graph)
• There is also some unease
among the BRICs that IGOs such
as the G8 and UN Security
Council are dominated by the
USA and EU
 Global Shifts in the Car industry
• In 2002, car sales in China were
Year Population of
just over 3 million Detroit (millions)
• By 2009 sales had exploded to 11 1950 1.8
million, beating the 10 million 1960 1.7
1970 1.5
sold in the USA
1980 1.2
• The potential for growth in car 1990 1
sales in China is vast 2000 0.95
2008 0.9
• Two of the ‘Detroit Three’
(Chrysler and GM) went bankrupt
in 2009, shedding jobs and
factories
• USA car companies have only
survived because of Government
bail-outs and selling or scrapping
their loss making brands.
• Several brands have been sold to
Indian and Chinese companies
 Development or dependency?
• Does the rise of the BRICs represent
an opportunity for the least
developed countries to develop new
relationships with wealthy countries?
• China’s interest in the developing
world, especially Africa, has grown in
the last 10 years
• China has invested in infrastructure
such as road and rail, which Africa
desperately needs.
• In some ways any investment is good
investment
• Critics argue that Africa is still
exporting its raw materials cheaply,
and that the investment brings few
jobs – Chinese workers are often used
instead of local labour.
China’s trade with Africa increased 10-
fold between 1999 and 2009, to $110
billion
Most trade is with oil exporters – Sudan,
Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria,
Angola
China approved $10 billion in loans to
African nations in 2009
China has invested in Zambian
copper mines, iron ore mines in
Gabon
China has gifted $150 to build a new
African Union headquarters in
Addis Adaba
 Superpower Conflict
• Would a multi-polar global future increase tension and conflict?
• Sources of tension might be considered in terms of three global
agendas: