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{{About|the geographic and political term|the fictional superhuman abilities|Superpower (ability)|other uses|Superpower (disambiguation)}} {{About|the geographic and political term|the fictional superhuman abilities|Superpower (ability)|other uses|Superpower (disambiguation)}}
{{Merge from|Potential superpower|discuss=Talk:Superpower#Merge proposal: Potential superpower|date=May 2024}}

'''Superpower''' describes a ] or ] that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to ] and ] on a global scale.<ref name="Munro1">{{cite web |last1=Munro |first1=André |title=superpower |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/superpower |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="Mark1">{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Mark |date=18 February 2005 |url=http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/leonard_irish_times_18feb05.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327034443/http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/leonard_irish_times_18feb05.html |archive-date=27 March 2009 |title=Europe: the new superpower |work=] |access-date=31 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link=John McCormick (political scientist) |first=John |last=McCormick |date=2007 |title=The European Superpower |publisher=]}}</ref> This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political, and cultural strength as well as ] and ] influence. Traditionally, superpowers are preeminent among the ]s. While a great power state is capable of exerting its influence globally, superpowers are states so influential that no significant action can be taken by the global community without first considering the positions of the superpowers on the issue.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Munro |first1=André |title=superpower (Political Science) |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/superpower |website=britannica |access-date=13 April 2022}}</ref> '''Superpower''' describes a ] or ] that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to ] and ] on a global scale.<ref name="Munro1">{{cite web |last1=Munro |first1=André |title=superpower |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/superpower |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="Mark1">{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Mark |date=18 February 2005 |url=http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/leonard_irish_times_18feb05.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327034443/http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/leonard_irish_times_18feb05.html |archive-date=27 March 2009 |title=Europe: the new superpower |work=] |access-date=31 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link=John McCormick (political scientist) |first=John |last=McCormick |date=2007 |title=The European Superpower |publisher=]}}</ref> This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political, and cultural strength as well as ] and ] influence. Traditionally, superpowers are preeminent among the ]s. While a great power state is capable of exerting its influence globally, superpowers are states so influential that no significant action can be taken by the global community without first considering the positions of the superpowers on the issue.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Munro |first1=André |title=superpower (Political Science) |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/superpower |website=britannica |access-date=13 April 2022}}</ref>


In 1944, during ], the term was first applied to the ], the ], and the United States.<ref name="The Super-Powers; The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union—Their Responsibility for Peace. By William T. R. Fox.">{{cite journal |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/superpowers-the-united-states-britain-and-the-soviet-uniontheir-responsibility-for-peace-by-william-t-r-fox-new-york-harcourt-brace-and-company-1944-pp-162-200-the-great-decision-by-james-t-shotwell-new-york-the-macmillan-company-1944-pp-234-300/62275F7F5673D641D4FCAAAC069A5BCA |title=The Super-Powers; The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union—Their Responsibility for Peace. By William T. R. Fox. (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. 1944. Pp. 162. $2.00.) |journal=] |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=1013–1015 |publisher=cambridge.org |doi=10.2307/1949612 |jstor=1949612 |access-date=2013-09-02 |last1=Hall |first1=H. Duncan |date=October 1944 | issn=0003-0554}}</ref> During the ], the British Empire dissolved, leaving the United States and the Soviet Union to dominate world affairs. At the end of the Cold War and the ] in 1991, the United States ],<ref name="Time-May-28-2015">{{Cite magazine |last=Bremer |first=Ian |date=28 May 2015 |title=These Are the 5 Reasons Why the U.S. Remains the World's Only Superpower |url=http://time.com/3899972/us-superpower-status-military/ |magazine=]}}</ref><ref>] (Published 2008), by Professor George C. Herring (Professor of History at Kentucky University)</ref> a position sometimes referred to as that of a "hyperpower".<ref name="Nossal">{{cite conference |first=Kim Richard |last=Nossal |title=Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower? Analyzing American Power in the post–Cold War Era |url=http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm |conference=Biennial meeting, South African Political Studies Association, 29 June-2 July 1999 |access-date=2007-02-28 |archive-date=2012-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807084022/http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm |url-status=dead}}<!-- subtitle: "Paper for presentation at the biennial meetings of the South African Political Studies Association Saldanha, Western Cape 29 June-2 July 1999 --></ref> Since the late 2010s and into the 2020s, China has increasingly been ]<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bekkevold |first=Jo Inge |title=Why China Is Not a Superpower |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/02/china-superpower-us-new-cold-war-rivalry-geopolitics/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |magazine=] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schuman |first=Michael |date=5 October 2020 |title=What Happens When China Leads the World |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/what-kind-superpower-will-china-be/616580/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |work=] |language=en}}</ref> or even an established one,<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 April 2023 |title=The Debate – Macron in the middle? French president in China amid superpower showdown |url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-debate/20230405-macron-in-the-middle-french-president-in-china-amid-superpower-showdown |access-date=2023-04-09 |work=] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Simon |first=Kuper |title=There are only two global superpowers left |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3e96c85c-7ef7-4e74-85dc-c924599293a0 |work=] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eaglen |first=Mackenzie |title=It's Time to Retire the Term "Near-Peer" Competitor When It Comes to China |url=https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/its-time-to-retire-the-term-near-peer-competitor-when-it-comes-to-china/ |website=AEI |language=en}}</ref> as China represents the "biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century" to the United States, as it is "the only country with enough ] to ] the current ]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 March 2021 |title=China poses "biggest geopolitical test" for the U.S., Blinken says |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-poses-biggest-geopolitical-test-u-s-says-secretary-state-n1259489 |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> In 1944, during ], the term was first applied to the ], the ], and the ].<ref name="The Super-Powers; The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union—Their Responsibility for Peace. By William T. R. Fox.">{{cite journal |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/superpowers-the-united-states-britain-and-the-soviet-uniontheir-responsibility-for-peace-by-william-t-r-fox-new-york-harcourt-brace-and-company-1944-pp-162-200-the-great-decision-by-james-t-shotwell-new-york-the-macmillan-company-1944-pp-234-300/62275F7F5673D641D4FCAAAC069A5BCA |title=The Super-Powers; The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union—Their Responsibility for Peace. By William T. R. Fox. (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. 1944. Pp. 162. $2.00.) |journal=] |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=1013–1015 |publisher=cambridge.org |doi=10.2307/1949612 |jstor=1949612 |access-date=2013-09-02 |last1=Hall |first1=H. Duncan |date=October 1944 | issn=0003-0554}}</ref> During the ], the British Empire dissolved, leaving the United States and the Soviet Union to dominate world affairs. At the end of the Cold War and the ] in 1991, the United States ],<ref name="Time-May-28-2015">{{Cite magazine |last=Bremer |first=Ian |date=28 May 2015 |title=These Are the 5 Reasons Why the U.S. Remains the World's Only Superpower |url=https://time.com/3899972/us-superpower-status-military/ |magazine=]}}</ref><ref>] (Published 2008), by Professor George C. Herring (Professor of History at Kentucky University)</ref> a position sometimes referred to as that of a "hyperpower".<ref name="Nossal">{{cite conference |first=Kim Richard |last=Nossal |title=Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower? Analyzing American Power in the post–Cold War Era |url=http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm |conference=Biennial meeting, South African Political Studies Association, 29 June-2 July 1999 |access-date=2007-02-28 |archive-date=2012-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807084022/http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm |url-status=dead}}<!-- subtitle: "Paper for presentation at the biennial meetings of the South African Political Studies Association Saldanha, Western Cape 29 June-2 July 1999 --></ref> Since the late 2010s and into the 2020s, China has increasingly been ]<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bekkevold |first=Jo Inge |title=Why China Is Not a Superpower |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/02/china-superpower-us-new-cold-war-rivalry-geopolitics/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |magazine=] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schuman |first=Michael |date=5 October 2020 |title=What Happens When China Leads the World |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/what-kind-superpower-will-china-be/616580/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |work=] |language=en}}</ref> or even an established one,<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 April 2023 |title=The Debate – Macron in the middle? French president in China amid superpower showdown |url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-debate/20230405-macron-in-the-middle-french-president-in-china-amid-superpower-showdown |access-date=2023-04-09 |work=] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Simon |first=Kuper |title=There are only two global superpowers left |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3e96c85c-7ef7-4e74-85dc-c924599293a0 |work=] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eaglen |first=Mackenzie |title=It's Time to Retire the Term "Near-Peer" Competitor When It Comes to China |url=https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/its-time-to-retire-the-term-near-peer-competitor-when-it-comes-to-china/ |website=AEI |language=en}}</ref> as China represents the "biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century" to the United States, as it is "the only country with enough ] to ] the current ]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 March 2021 |title=China poses "biggest geopolitical test" for the U.S., Blinken says |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-poses-biggest-geopolitical-test-u-s-says-secretary-state-n1259489 |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>


{{TOC limit|4}} {{TOC limit|4}}

== Origin ==
], the United States (blue), the ] (red), and the ] (]) were superpowers.]]
], President ], and ] ], meeting at the ] in ] in February 1945, near the end of ]]]
No agreed definition of what a superpower is exists and may differ between sources.<ref name="Nossal" /> However, a fundamental characteristic that is consistent with all definitions of a superpower is a nation or state that has mastered the seven dimensions of state power, namely geography, population, economy, ], military, diplomacy, and ].<ref>'']'' (1987) written by Paul Kennedy</ref>

The term was first used to describe nations with greater than ] status as early as 1944, but only gained its specific meaning with regard to the United States and the ] after ]. This was because the United States and the Soviet Union had proved themselves to be capable of casting great influence in global politics and military dominance. The term in its current political meaning was coined by Dutch-American ] ] in a series of lectures in 1943 about the potential shape of a new post-war world order. This formed the foundation for the book ''The Geography of the Peace'', which referred primarily to the unmatched maritime global supremacy of the British Empire and the United States as essential for peace and prosperity in the world.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

A year later, ], an American foreign policy professor, elaborated on the concept in the book ''The Superpowers: The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union — Their Responsibility for Peace'' which spoke of the global reach of a super-empowered nation.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |last=Dellios |first=Rosita |url=http://www.casaasia.es/pdf/9200595422AM1127202862621.pdf |title=China: The 21st Century Superpower? |website=Casa Asia |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref> Fox used the word superpower to identify a new category of power able to occupy the highest status in a world in which—as the war then raging demonstrated—states could challenge and fight each other on a global scale. According to him, at that moment, there were three states that were superpowers, namely the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The ] was the most ] in world history and considered the foremost great power, holding sway over 25% of the world's population<ref>{{cite book |first=Angus |last=Maddison |title=The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective |pages=98, 242 |publisher=] |location=Paris |date=2001}}</ref> and controlling about 25% of the Earth's total land area, while the United States and the Soviet Union grew in power before and during World War II. The UK would face serious political, financial, and colonial issues after World War II that left it unable to match Soviet or American power. Ultimately, Britain's empire would gradually dissolve over the course of the 20th century, sharply reducing its global power projection.

According to Lyman Miller, "he basic components of superpower stature may be measured along four axes of power: military, economic, political, and cultural (or what political scientist ] has termed "]")".<ref name="stanford">{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Lyman |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.03_miller.html |title=www.stanford.edu |publisher=stanford.edu |access-date=2010-08-27 |archive-date=2014-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511131303/http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.03_miller.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the opinion of ] of ] in Canada, "generally, this term was used to signify a political community that occupied a continental-sized landmass; had a sizable population (relative at least to other major powers); a superordinate economic capacity, including ample indigenous supplies of food and natural resources; enjoyed a high degree of non-dependence on international intercourse; and, most importantly, had a well-developed nuclear capacity (eventually, normally defined as ] capability)".<ref name="Nossal" />

In the opinion of Professor ], "a superpower must be able to conduct a global strategy, including the possibility of destroying the world; to command vast economic potential and influence; and to present a universal ideology". Although "many modifications may be made to this basic definition".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://abe.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo.asp?bookid=536885601 |title=The Superpowers – A Short History |date=8 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208142349/http://abe.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo.asp?bookid=536885601 |archive-date=8 December 2008}}</ref> According to Professor June Teufel Dreyer, " superpower must be able to project its power, soft and hard, globally".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fpri.org/docs/media/FN1205-Ch-dreyer.pdf |title=PDF Version – Foreign Policy Research Institute |publisher=www.fpri.org |access-date=2015-05-31}}</ref> In his book '']'', Dr. ], president of the ], argues that a superpower is "a country that can exert enough military, political, and economic power to persuade nations in every region of the world to take important actions they would not otherwise take".<ref>Bremmer, Ian. 2015. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429014943/http://www.ianbremmer.com/book/superpower-three-choices-america%E2%80%99s-role-world|date=29 April 2018}} Portfolio (Penguin Group): New York.</ref>

Apart from its common denotation of the foremost post-WWII states, the term ''superpower'' has colloquially been applied by some authors retrospectively to describe various preeminent ] or ], in works such as ]'s documentary '']'' or the reference in '']'' to "the other superpower, ]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cambridge |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |volume=1: C.500-c.700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C&pg=PA323 |page=323 |publisher=] |date=1995 |isbn=9780521362917 |via=]}}</ref>

== During the Cold War ==
{{Further|Cold War}}
{{See also|Soviet Union–United States relations}}
{{Synthesis|section|talksection=BE sourcing|date=March 2019}}
[[File:Cold War Map 1980.svg|thumb|This map shows two global spheres during the Cold War in 1980:
{{legend|#000099|<small>] member states</small>}}
{{legend|#6666ff|<small>Other NATO and United States allies</small>}}
<span style="color:blue"><small>'''×'''</small></span> Anti-communist guerrillas
{{legend|#ff0000|<small>] member states</small>}}
{{legend|#ff6666|<small>Socialist states allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact</small>}}
{{legend|#ffcccc|<small>Other allies of the Soviet Union</small>}}
<span style="color:red"><small>'''×'''</small></span> Communist guerrillas
{{legend|#ffcc33|<small>Socialist states not allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact</small>}}
{{legend|#ccccff|<small>Neutral nations</small>}}
<span style="color:green"><small>'''×'''</small></span> Other conflicts]]
The 1956 ] suggested that ], financially weakened by two world wars, could not then pursue its ] objectives on an equal footing with the new superpowers without sacrificing ] of its ] as a central goal of policy.<ref>Adam Klug and Gregor W. Smith, 'Suez and Sterling', ''Explorations in Economic History'', Vol. 36, No. 3 (July 1999), pp. 181–203.</ref> As the majority of World War II had been fought far from its national boundaries, the United States had not suffered the industrial destruction nor massive civilian casualties that marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia. The war had reinforced the position of the United States as the world's largest long-term creditor nation<ref>"Getting Serious About the Twin Deficits "by Author: Menzie D. Chinn – September 2005 by Council on Foreign Relations Press {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402083705/http://www.cfr.org/economics/getting-serious-twin-deficits/p8933|date=2 April 2012}}</ref> and its principal supplier of goods; moreover, it had built up a strong industrial and technological infrastructure that had greatly advanced its military strength into a primary position on the global stage.<ref> Gary E. Oldenburger by Oldenburger Independent Studies; December 2002</ref> Despite attempts to create multinational coalitions or legislative bodies (such as the United Nations), it became increasingly clear that the superpowers had very different visions about what the post-war world ought to look like and after the withdrawal of British aid to ] in 1947, the United States took the lead in ] ] in the ].<ref>Robert Frazier, 'Did Britain Start the Cold War? Bevin and the Truman Doctrine', ''Historical Journal'', Vol. 27, No. 3 (Sep. 1984), pp. 715–727.</ref>

The two countries opposed each other ideologically, politically, militarily, and economically. The Soviet Union promoted the ideology of ], ], and a ] while the United States promoted the ideologies of ] and the ] in a ] ]. This was reflected in the ] and ] military alliances, respectively, as most of Europe became aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union. These alliances implied that these two nations were part of an emerging ] world, in contrast with a previously multipolar world.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

The idea that the Cold War period revolved around only two blocs, or even only two nations, has been challenged by some 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 that occurred without influence from either of the two superpowers.<ref> by Signal Alpha News Achieve Press 2005</ref> Additionally, much of the conflict between the superpowers was fought in ]s, which more often than not involved issues more complex than the standard Cold War oppositions.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928145126/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/fordham.htm |date=28 September 2012 }} Benjamin O. Fordham by World Peace Foundation; Massachusetts Institute of Technology April 1998</ref>

After the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s, the term hyperpower began to be applied to the United States as the sole remaining superpower of the Cold War era.<ref name="Nossal" /> This term, popularized by French foreign minister ] in the late 1990s, is controversial and the validity of classifying the United States in this way is disputed. One notable opponent to this theory is ], who rejects this theory in favor of a multipolar ]. Other international relations theorists such as ] theorize that because the threat of the Soviet Union no longer exists to formerly American-dominated regions such as Western Europe and Japan, American influence is only declining since the end of the Cold War because such regions no longer need protection or have necessarily similar foreign policies as the United States.<ref>Henry Kissinger, '''', pp. 24, 26</ref>{{clear}}

== After the Cold War ==
{{see also|Second Cold War}}
]
] trading floor. ] such as a large ] and a world ] are important factors in the projection of ].]]
After the ] in 1991 which ended the ], the ] world has in the past been considered by some to be a ] world,<ref name="Krauthammer1">Charles Krauthammer, , ''Foreign Policy Magazine'' (1991).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaikoforum.com/P03_19_122.pdf |title=www.gaikoforum.com |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref> with the United States as the world's sole remaining superpower.<ref>, BBC News. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref> In 1999, political scientist and author ] wrote: "The United States, of course, is the sole state with preeminence in every domain of power – economic, military, diplomatic, ideological, technological, and cultural – with the reach and capabilities to promote its interests in virtually every part of the world". However, Huntington rejected the claim that the world was unipolar, arguing: "There is now only one superpower. But that does not mean that the world is unipolar", describing it instead as "a strange hybrid, a uni-multipolar system with one superpower and several major powers". He further wrote that "Washington is blind to the fact that it no longer enjoys the dominance it had at the end of the Cold War. It must relearn the game of international politics as a major power, not a superpower, and make compromises".<ref name="affairs">{{cite web|url=http://www-stage.foreignaffairs.org/19990301faessay966/samuel-p-huntington/the-lonely-superpower.html|title=The Lonely Superpower|work=Foreign Affairs|first=Samuel P.|last=Huntington|date=27 April 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427150630/http://www-stage.foreignaffairs.org/19990301faessay966/samuel-p-huntington/the-lonely-superpower.html|archive-date=27 April 2006}}</ref>

Experts argue that this older single-superpower assessment of ] is too simplified, in part because of the difficulty in classifying the European Union at its current stage of development. Others argue that the notion of a superpower is outdated, considering complex global economic interdependencies and propose that the world is ].<ref name="The Global list (No superpower)">{{cite web|url=http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/printStoryId.aspx?StoryId=3553|title=The Multipolar World Vs. The Superpower|work=The Globalist|first=Sherle|last=Schwenninger|date=5 December 2003|access-date=2006-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613215234/http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/printStoryId.aspx?StoryId=3553 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=2006-06-13}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post (No superpower)">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/03/AR2006030302055.html|title=The Multipolar Unilateralist|access-date=2006-06-10 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=5 March 2006 |first=David |last=Von Drehle}}</ref><ref name="Globalpolicy.org (No superpower)">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/challenges/competitors/2005/0315chinapower.htm|title=No Longer the "Lone" Superpower|access-date=2006-06-11}}</ref><ref name="A Times (No superpower)">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED05Ak01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030406200825/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED05Ak01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=6 April 2003|title=The war that may end the age of superpower |work=Asia Times|author=Henry C K Liu|date=5 April 2003|access-date=2006-06-11}}</ref>

A 2012 report by the ] predicted that the United States superpower status will have eroded to merely being first among equals by 2030, but that it would remain highest among the world's most powerful countries because of its influence in many different fields and global connections that the great regional powers of the time would not match.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Additionally, some experts have suggested the possibility of the United States losing its superpower status completely in the future, citing speculation of its decline in power relative to the rest of the world, economic hardships, a declining dollar, Cold War allies becoming less dependent on the United States, and the emergence of future powers around the world.<ref name="uiuc-superpower">Unger J (2008), '']''</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Almond |first=Steve |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/22/american_decline |title=Seizing American supremacy |work=Salon.com |date=22 August 2007 |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Leonardo |last=Martinez-Diaz |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/0428us_economics_martinez-diaz.aspx |title=U.S.: A Losing Superpower? |publisher=Brookings.edu |date=28 April 2007 |access-date=2010-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602232730/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/0428us_economics_martinez-diaz.aspx |archive-date=2010-06-02}}</ref>

According to a ] paper by American diplomat ], Professor Howard J. Shatz, and policy analyst Ali Wyne, Russia in the breakdown of a disintegrating unipolar world order, while not a peer competitor to the United States, would still remain a player and a potential ] that would undermine global affairs. The West could ] Russia with methods like those employed during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, though this would be tested by Russia's overt and covert efforts to destabilize Western alliances and political systems. On the other hand, China is a peer competitor to the United States that cannot be contained, and will be a far more challenging entity for the West to confront. The authors state that China's military dominance in the Asia-Pacific is already eroding American influence at a rapid pace, and the costs for the US to defend its interests there will continue to rise. Moreover, China's economic influence has already broken out of its regional confines long ago and is on track to directly contest the US role as the center for economic trade and commerce.<ref name="RAND Corporation-October-2018">{{Cite report|author1=Dobbins, James |author2=Shatz, Howard |author3=Wyne, Ali |title=Russia Is a Rogue, Not a Peer; China Is a Peer, Not a Rogue: Different Challenges, Different Responses|url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE310.html|publisher=]|date=2018}}</ref><ref name="Sage Journals-January-16-2018">{{Cite journal|author1=Maher, Paul J |author2=Igou, Eric R |author3=van Tilburg, Wijnand A.P. |title=Brexit, Trump, and the Polarizing Effect of Disillusionment|journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science|volume=9|issue=2|pages=205–213|publisher=]|date= 16 January 2018|doi=10.1177/1948550617750737|s2cid=149195975|url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/brexit-trump-and-the-polarizing-effect-of-disillusionment(5e1bccd1-d580-461b-abe3-cbaceafd5a1d).html}}</ref><ref name="Deutsche Welle-September-18-2018">{{Cite news|author=Janjevic, Darko |title=Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban's special relationship|url=https://www.dw.com/en/vladimir-putin-and-viktor-orbans-special-relationship/a-45512712|publisher=]|date= 18 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="The Conversation-March-22-2019">{{Cite news|author=King, Winnie |title=Italy joins China's Belt and Road Initiative – here's how it exposes cracks in Europe and the G7|url=https://theconversation.com/italy-joins-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-heres-how-it-exposes-cracks-in-europe-and-the-g7-114039|publisher=]|date= 22 March 2019}}</ref>

== Potential superpowers ==
{{Main|Potential superpower}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Superpower.svg|thumb|300px|'''Extant superpower'''
{{legend|#ffff00|United States}}
'''Potential superpowers'''—supported in varying degrees by academics
{{legend|#ff0000|China}}
{{legend|#000080|European Union}}
{{legend|#00ff00 |India}}
{{legend|#ff6600|Russia}}]]

The term potential superpowers has been applied by scholars and other qualified commentators to the possibility of several political entities achieving superpower status in the 21st century. Due to their large markets, growing military strength, economic potential, and influence in international affairs, China,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19995218 |title=What kind of superpower could China be? |work=] |date=19 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=848 |title=China as a global power |publisher=China.usc.edu |date=13 November 2007 |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref><ref>CNN (1999). Visions of China. CNN Specials, 1999. Retrieved on 11 March 2007 from http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/.</ref> the European Union,<ref name="Mark1" /> India,<ref>Meredith, R (2008) ''The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us'', "W.W Norton and Company" {{ISBN|978-0-393-33193-6}}</ref> and Russia<ref>{{cite book |title=Russia in the 21st Century |publisher=] Press |date=February 2005 |last=Rosefielde |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Rosefielde |isbn=978-0-521-54529-7 |url=http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/economics/international-economics/russia-21st-century-prodigal-superpower}}</ref> are among the political entities most cited as having the potential of achieving superpower status in the 21st century. In 2020, a new ] survey found that 57% of global investors predicted that China would replace the U.S. as the world's biggest superpower by 2030.<ref>{{cite news |last=Saloway |first=Scott |title=China will replace the US as the world's biggest superpower by 2030: UBS survey |language=en |publisher=Yahoo Finance (]) |date=24 January 2020 |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ubs-survey-china-world-superpower-185949233.html}}</ref> However, many historians, writers, and critics have expressed doubts whether China or India would ever emerge as a new superpower.<ref>{{cite news |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |title=Why India Will Not Become a Superpower |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17350650 |publisher=] |access-date=2012-04-29 |date=13 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Yuanan |first=Zhang |url=http://www.worldcrunch.com/business-finance/why-china-is-still-no-superpower/china-usa-economy-superpower-confucius/c2s12860/#.UyNI_j-SxA0 |title=Why China Is Still No Superpower |access-date=2014-03-14 |date=31 July 2013}}</ref> Some political scientists and other commentators have even suggested that such countries might simply be ]s, as opposed to potential superpowers.<ref name="BRICS">{{cite web |url=http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/China_Monitor_JUNE_2010.pdf |title=The Centre for Chinese Studies – Study of China and East Asia on the African continent |website=www.ccs.org.za |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204011005/http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/China_Monitor_JUNE_2010.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-04}}</ref> The European Union has been called a "regulatory superpower" due to the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=dmalloy |date=15 June 2023 |title=The world's regulatory superpower is taking on a regulatory nightmare: artificial intelligence |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/the-worlds-regulatory-superpower-is-taking-on-a-regulatory-nightmare-artificial-intelligence/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=kdaponte |date=24 May 2023 |title=Meta fine shows EU is 'regulatory superpower,' Northeastern expert says |url=https://cssh.northeastern.edu/meta-fine-shows-eu-is-regulatory-superpower-northeastern-expert-says/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=College of Social Sciences and Humanities |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bradford |first=Anu |date=1 March 2020 |title=The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World |url=https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/232 |journal=Faculty Books|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190088583.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-008858-3 }}</ref>

The record of such predictions has not been perfect. For example, in the 1980s, some commentators thought Japan would ] due to its large GDP and ].<ref> 1988 article "Japan From Superrich To Superpower"</ref> However, ], creating a long period of economic slump in the country which has become known as the '']''.

Increasing doubts have emerged around the potential of Russia to gain superpower status given its declining economy, severe military underperformance during the ], and its loss of influence in Central Asia, a region once dominated by Moscow for centuries.<ref name="CNBC1">{{cite news |last1=Gamble |first1=Hadley |title=EU foreign policy chief dismisses Russia's superpower status, doubts Trump will pay Syria bill |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/20/eu-foreign-policy-russia-trump-syria.html |access-date=3 August 2023 |agency=CNBC |date=20 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="Krugman1">{{cite news |last1=Krugman |first1=Paul |title=View: Russia is a Potemkin superpower. The Ukrainian invasion has made that clear |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/view-russia-is-a-potemkin-superpower-the-ukrainian-invasion-has-made-that-clear/articleshow/89916470.cms |access-date=3 August 2023 |agency=The Economic Times |work=The New York Times |date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="Von Drehle1">{{cite news |last1=Von Drehle |first1=David |title=War proves that Russia is no longer a superpower |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/15/ukraine-war-proves-russia-no-longer-a-superpower/ |access-date=3 August 2023 |agency=The Washington Post |date=15 March 2022}}</ref>

== Superpower collapse ==
=== Soviet Union ===
Dramatic changes occurred in the ] and the ] during ], with '']'' and '']'', the ] in November 1989, and finally the ] in December 1991. As early as 1970, ] had made ], and ] made a similar prediction in 1976.<ref>The final fall, Todd, 1976</ref> Due to Russia's capabilities of conventional warfare during the ] Russia was compared to a "] Superpower" by ].<ref>{{cite journal|author=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/putin-military-sanctions-weakness.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301041314/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/putin-military-sanctions-weakness.html|url-status=live|archive-date=1 March 2022|title=Russia Is a Potemkin Superpower|journal=]|date=28 February 2022|access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> Russia is a ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=William H |first=Boothby |date=10 March 2016 |title=13 Nuclear Weapons |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198728504.003.0013 |journal=Weapons and the Law of Armed Conflict |pages=208–216 |doi=10.1093/law/9780198728504.003.0013|isbn=978-0-19-872850-4 }}</ref>

=== British Empire ===

The ] of 1956 is considered by some commentators to be the beginning of the end of Britain's period as a superpower,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/mar/14/past.education1 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Derek | last=Brown | title=1956: Suez and the end of empire | date=14 March 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5199392.stm | work=BBC News | first=Paul | last=Reynolds | title=Suez: End of empire | date=24 July 2006}}</ref><ref>History's worst decisions and the people who made them, pp. 167–172</ref> but other commentators have pointed much earlier such as in ], the ], the ], the return of the ] to the ] at its prewar parity in 1925, the ], the loss of wealth from ], the end of ] from the United States in 1945, the postwar ], the ], the beginning of decolonization and the independence of ] as other key points in Britain's decline and loss of superpower status.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom|title=United Kingdom {{!}} History, Geography, Facts, & Points of Interest|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-04-17}}</ref>

The Suez Crisis in particular is regarded by historians to be a political and diplomatic disaster for the British Empire, as it led to large-scale international condemnation, including extensive pressure from the United States and Soviet Union. This forced the British and the French to withdraw in embarrassment and cemented the increasingly-] Cold War politics between the ] and United States. In the 1960s, the movement for decolonization reached its peak, with remaining imperial holdings achieving independence, accelerating the transition from the ] to the ]. As the Empire continued to crumble, the ] of the United Kingdom later experienced deindustrialization throughout the 1970s, coupled with high inflation and industrial unrest that unraveled the ]. This led to some economists to refer to Britain as ]. In 1976, the United Kingdom had to seek assistance from the ] (IMF) which it had previously ironically helped create, receiving funding of $3.9&nbsp;billion, the largest-ever loan to be requested up until that point.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/imf-crisis.htm |title=National Archives |access-date= 17 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=NA-SterlingDevalued>{{cite web|title=Sterling devalued and the IMF loan|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/sterling-devalued-imf-loan.htm|website=The National Archives|access-date=17 December 2015}}</ref> In 1979, the country suffered major widespread strikes known as the ]. All these factors were seen by academics, economists and politicians as symbolising Britain's postwar decline. Lastly, the ] to China was seen by experts as the definitive end of the British Empire.

Nevertheless, the United Kingdom today has retained global ] in the 21st century, including a formidable military. The United Kingdom continues to have a permanent seat on the ] alongside only four other powers, and is one of the nine nuclear powers. Its capital city, London, continues to be regarded as one of the pre-eminent cities in the world, being ranked as a ] by the Mori Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Power City Index 2020|url=http://www.mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/ius2/gpci2/2020.shtml|access-date=2021-06-02|website=The Mori Memorial Foundation}}</ref> In 2022, the United Kingdom was ranked the foremost European country in terms of soft power by Brand Finance.<ref name="Global soft power index">{{cite web|url= https://brandfinance.com/press-releases/global-soft-power-index-2022-usa-bounces-back-better-to-top-of-nation-brand-ranking|title= Global Soft Power Index 2022: USA bounces back better to top of nation brand ranking|website=brandfinance.com|date= 15 March 2022|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref>

=== United States ===
{{see also|American decline}}

In '']''<ref>Todd, Constable, 2001</ref> (2001), French sociologist Emmanuel Todd predicts the eventual decline and fall of the United States as a superpower. "After years of being perceived as a problem-solver, the US itself has now become a problem for the rest of the world." Since the 2010s, as a result of ] within the United States, as well as globally perceived ] failures, and China's growing influence around the world, some academics and geopolitical experts have argued that the United States may already be experiencing a decay in its ] around the world.<ref name="Foreign Policy piece">{{cite web|url= https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/28/us-global-power-values-roe-v-wade-guns/ |title=America Is Losing Its Value Proposition |website=Foreign Policy |first= Howard W. |last=French |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="Stanford commentary">{{cite web |url=https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/soft-war-america-losing |title=The Soft War That America Is Losing |publisher=Stanford University |first=Aynne |last=Kokas |date=15 January 2021 |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>

== Superpower disengagement ==
Superpower disengagement is a ] option whereby the most powerful nations, the superpowers, reduce their interventions in an area. Such disengagement could be multilateral among superpowers or lesser powers, or bilateral between two superpowers, or unilateral. It could mean an end to either direct or indirect interventions. For instance, disengagement could mean that the superpowers remove their support of proxies in ]s to de-escalate a superpower conflict back to a local problem based on local disputes. Disengagement can create buffers between superpowers that might prevent conflicts or reduce the intensity of conflicts.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The term usually refers to various policy proposals during the ] which attempted to defuse tensions between the ] and the United States, largely because of the risk of any superpower conflict to escalate to ]. Examples of one-sided disengagement include when ] decided to end Soviet support for the communist ]s in ] during the ], and when ] withdrew US troops from Vietnam in the early 1970s.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The more important candidates for disengagement were where Soviet and US forces faced each other directly such as in Germany and ]. The ] is an example of formal, multilateral, superpower disengagement which left Austria as neutral for the duration of the Cold War, with Austria staying out of the ], ], and the ]. The 1952 ] is perhaps the most controversial proposal of superpower disengagement from Germany.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Layne |first1=Christopher |title=Superpower Disengagement |journal=Foreign Policy |date=1989 |issue=77 |pages=17–40 |doi=10.2307/1148767 |jstor=1148767 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1148767 |access-date=2 February 2024 |issn=0015-7228}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwarz |first1=Benjamin |title=It's Time to Disrupt NATO |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/time-disrupt-nato/ |access-date=2 February 2024 |date=11 July 2018|work=]}}</ref>


== Proposed early superpowers == == Proposed early superpowers ==
These are proposed examples of ancient or historical superpowers, taking into account that the knowledge of what the "known world" comprised was extremely limited in past eras (for example, Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas and Australia only after the ], which began in the late 15th century, and prior to this era, they had a very limited knowledge about East Asia as well).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Age of Discovery |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/age-of-discovery/vwWhV3Stt409eA |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref>
]
These are proposed examples of ancient or historical superpowers, taking into account that the knowledge of what the "known world" was constitued was extremely limited in past eras (for example, Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas and Australia only after the ], which began in the late 15th century, and prior to this era, they had a very limited knowledge about East Asia as well).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Age of Discovery |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/age-of-discovery/vwWhV3Stt409eA |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref>


===Archaic globalization (before 1500)=== ===Archaic globalization (before 1500)===
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====Classical antiquity==== ====Classical antiquity====
===== Indian subcontinent ===== ===== Indian subcontinent =====
* ] (one of the 16 ], isolated civilizations before contact with the Persians) * ] (one of the 16 ], isolated civilizations before contact with the Persians)


===== Known world by the ancient Greeks before the Hellenistic period ===== ===== Known world by the ancient Greeks before the Hellenistic period =====
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===== East Asia ===== ===== East Asia =====
Not fully known outside East Asia, However, due to the ], the existence of these great powers was known, but little information about them reached the West. Not fully known outside East Asia. The West knew of these powers because of the ], although little information reached them.
* ]<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Lockard |first=Craig A. |date=4 February 2013 |title=Chinese emigration to 1948 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm130 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration |doi=10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm130|isbn=9781444334890}}</ref> * ]<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Lockard |first=Craig A. |date=4 February 2013 |title=Chinese emigration to 1948 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm130 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration |doi=10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm130|isbn=9781444334890}}</ref>
* ] * ]


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===== Andes ===== ===== Andes =====
Isolated civilization in relation to the ]. Isolated civilization in relation to ].
* ] (little information about their type of government) * ] (little information about their type of government)


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* ] (known by Arabs and Europeans) * ] (known by Arabs and Europeans)
* ] (know by Arabs) * ] (know by Arabs)
* ] and ] (know by Arabs and Asians. Contact with Europeans only after 1500) * ] and ] (known by Arabs and Asians. Contact with Europeans only after 1500)


===== Mesoamerica ===== ===== Mesoamerica =====
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* ] during the reign of ]<ref>{{Citation |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |title=The Habsburg Puzzle |date=1 October 2019 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691196442.003.0001 |work=The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire |pages=1–18 |publisher=Princeton University Press |doi=10.23943/princeton/9780691196442.003.0001 |isbn=9780691196442 |access-date=2022-12-27}}</ref> * ] during the reign of ]<ref>{{Citation |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |title=The Habsburg Puzzle |date=1 October 2019 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691196442.003.0001 |work=The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire |pages=1–18 |publisher=Princeton University Press |doi=10.23943/princeton/9780691196442.003.0001 |isbn=9780691196442 |access-date=2022-12-27}}</ref>


===Modern globalization (1800-1945)=== ===Modern globalization (1800–1945)===
{{Main article|Modern globalization}} {{Main article|Modern globalization}}
* ] (main reserve currency from 1815 to 1920: ])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.midasgoldgroup.com/news/world-reserve-currencies-since-1450/#:~:text=Since%201450%20there%20have%20been,States%20from%201921%20to%20today | title=World Reserve Currencies Since 1450 | date=6 January 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Clayton |first=Anthony |date=1986 |title=The British Empire as a Superpower, 1919–39 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08609-2 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-08609-2 |isbn=978-1-349-08611-5}}</ref> * ] (main reserve currency from 1815 to 1920: ])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.midasgoldgroup.com/news/world-reserve-currencies-since-1450/#:~:text=Since%201450%20there%20have%20been,States%20from%201921%20to%20today | title=World Reserve Currencies Since 1450 | date=6 January 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Clayton |first=Anthony |date=1986 |title=The British Empire as a Superpower, 1919–39 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08609-2 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-08609-2 |isbn=978-1-349-08611-5}}</ref>
* ] of ] and ]<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 December 2021 |title=Second French Colonial Empire |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/second-french-colonial-empire.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US}}</ref> * ] of ] and ]<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 December 2021 |title=Second French Colonial Empire |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/second-french-colonial-empire.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US}}</ref>


According to historical statistics and research from the ], until the ], Western Europe, ], and ] accounted for roughly ⅔ of the world's GDP.<ref name="Maddison 2006 656">{{cite book |last=Maddison |first=Angus |title=The World Economy – Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective and Volume 2: Historical Statistics |year=2006 |publisher=OECD Publishing by ] |isbn=9789264022621 |page=656 |url=http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?K=5L9ZBQKL5RLW&lang=EN&sort=sort_date%2Fd&stem=true&sf1=Title&st1=world+economy&sf3=SubjectCode&sp1=not&st4=E4+or+E5+or+P5&sf4=SubVersionCode&ds=world+economy%3B+All+Subjects%3B+&m=3&dc=26&plang=en}}</ref> According to historical statistics and research from the ], until the ], Western Europe, ], and ] accounted for roughly ⅔ of the world's GDP.<ref name="Maddison 2006 656">{{cite book |last=Maddison |first=Angus |title=The World Economy – Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective and Volume 2: Historical Statistics |year=2006 |publisher=OECD Publishing by ] |isbn=9789264022621 |page=656 |url=http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?K=5L9ZBQKL5RLW&lang=EN&sort=sort_date%2Fd&stem=true&sf1=Title&st1=world+economy&sf3=SubjectCode&sp1=not&st4=E4+or+E5+or+P5&sf4=SubVersionCode&ds=world+economy%3B+All+Subjects%3B+&m=3&dc=26&plang=en}}</ref>

== Origin ==
], the United States (blue), the ] (red), and the ] (]) were superpowers.]]
], President ], and ] ], meeting at the ] in ] in February 1945, near the end of ]]]
No agreed definition of what a superpower is exists and may differ between sources.<ref name="Nossal" /> However, a fundamental characteristic that is consistent with all definitions of a superpower is a nation or state that has mastered the seven dimensions of state power, namely geography, population, economy, ], military, diplomacy, and ].<ref>'']'' (1987) written by Paul Kennedy</ref>

The term was first used to describe nations with greater than ] status as early as 1944, but only gained its specific meaning with regard to the United States and the ] after ]. This was because the United States and the Soviet Union had proved themselves to be capable of casting great influence in global politics and military dominance. The term in its current political meaning was coined by Dutch-American ] ] in a series of lectures in 1943 about the potential shape of a new post-war world order. This formed the foundation for the book ''The Geography of the Peace'', which referred primarily to the unmatched maritime global supremacy of the British Empire and the United States as essential for peace and prosperity in the world.

A year later, in 1944, ], an American foreign policy professor, elaborated on the concept in the book ''The Superpowers: The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union — Their Responsibility for Peace'' which spoke of the global reach of a super-empowered nation.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |last=Dellios |first=Rosita |url=http://www.casaasia.es/pdf/9200595422AM1127202862621.pdf |title=China: The 21st Century Superpower? |website=Casa Asia |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref> Fox used the word superpower to identify a new category of power able to occupy the highest status in a world in which—as the war then raging demonstrated—states could challenge and fight each other on a global scale. According to him, at that moment, there were three states that were superpowers, namely the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The ] was the most ] in world history and considered the foremost great power, holding sway over 25% of the world's population<ref>{{cite book |first=Angus |last=Maddison |title=The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective |pages=98, 242 |publisher=] |location=Paris |date=2001}}</ref> and controlling about 25% of the Earth's total land area, while the United States and the Soviet Union grew in power before and during World War II. The UK would face serious political, financial, and colonial issues after World War II that left it unable to match Soviet or American power. Ultimately, Britain's empire would gradually dissolve over the course of the 20th century, sharply reducing its global power projection.

According to Lyman Miller, "he basic components of superpower stature may be measured along four axes of power: military, economic, political, and cultural (or what political scientist ] has termed "]")".<ref name="stanford">{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Lyman |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.03_miller.html |title=www.stanford.edu |publisher=stanford.edu |access-date=2010-08-27 |archive-date=2014-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511131303/http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.03_miller.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the opinion of ] of ] in Canada, "generally, this term was used to signify a political community that occupied a continental-sized landmass; had a sizable population (relative at least to other major powers); a superordinate economic capacity, including ample indigenous supplies of food and natural resources; enjoyed a high degree of non-dependence on international intercourse; and, most importantly, had a well-developed nuclear capacity (eventually, normally defined as ] capability)".<ref name="Nossal" />

In the opinion of Professor ], "a superpower must be able to conduct a global strategy, including the possibility of destroying the world; to command vast economic potential and influence; and to present a universal ideology". Although "many modifications may be made to this basic definition".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://abe.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo.asp?bookid=536885601 |title=The Superpowers – A Short History |date=8 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208142349/http://abe.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo.asp?bookid=536885601 |archive-date=8 December 2008}}</ref> According to Professor June Teufel Dreyer, " superpower must be able to project its power, soft and hard, globally".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fpri.org/docs/media/FN1205-Ch-dreyer.pdf |title=PDF Version – Foreign Policy Research Institute |publisher=www.fpri.org |access-date=2015-05-31}}</ref> In his book '']'', Dr. ], president of the ], argues that a superpower is "a country that can exert enough military, political, and economic power to persuade nations in every region of the world to take important actions they would not otherwise take".<ref>Bremmer, Ian. 2015. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429014943/http://www.ianbremmer.com/book/superpower-three-choices-america%E2%80%99s-role-world|date=29 April 2018}} Portfolio (Penguin Group): New York.</ref>

Apart from its common denotation of the foremost post-WWII states, the term ''superpower'' has colloquially been applied by some authors retrospectively to describe various preeminent ] or ], in works such as ]'s documentary '']'' or the reference in '']'' to "the other superpower, ]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cambridge |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |volume=1: C.500-c.700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C&pg=PA323 |page=323 |publisher=] |date=1995 |isbn=9780521362917 |via=]}}</ref>

== During the Cold War ==
{{Further|Cold War}}
{{See also|Soviet Union–United States relations}}
{{Synthesis|section|talksection=BE sourcing|date=March 2019}}
[[File:Cold War Map 1980.svg|thumb|This map shows two global spheres during the Cold War in 1980:
{{legend|#000099|<small>] member states</small>}}
{{legend|#6666ff|<small>Other NATO and United States allies</small>}}
<span style="color:blue"><small>'''×'''</small></span> Anti-communist guerrillas
{{legend|#ff0000|<small>] member states</small>}}
{{legend|#ff6666|<small>Socialist states allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact</small>}}
{{legend|#ffcccc|<small>Other allies of the Soviet Union</small>}}
<span style="color:red"><small>'''×'''</small></span> Communist guerrillas
{{legend|#ffcc33|<small>Socialist states not allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact</small>}}
{{legend|#ccccff|<small>Neutral nations</small>}}
<span style="color:green"><small>'''×'''</small></span> Other conflicts]]
The 1956 ] suggested that ], financially weakened by two world wars, could not then pursue its ] objectives on an equal footing with the new superpowers without sacrificing ] of its ] as a central goal of policy.<ref>Adam Klug and Gregor W. Smith, 'Suez and Sterling', ''Explorations in Economic History'', Vol. 36, No. 3 (July 1999), pp. 181–203.</ref> As the majority of World War II had been fought far from its national boundaries, the United States had not suffered the industrial destruction nor massive civilian casualties that marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia. The war had reinforced the position of the United States as the world's largest long-term creditor nation<ref>"Getting Serious About the Twin Deficits "by Author: Menzie D. Chinn – September 2005 by Council on Foreign Relations Press {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402083705/http://www.cfr.org/economics/getting-serious-twin-deficits/p8933|date=2 April 2012}}</ref> and its principal supplier of goods; moreover, it had built up a strong industrial and technological infrastructure that had greatly advanced its military strength into a primary position on the global stage.<ref> Gary E. Oldenburger by Oldenburger Independent Studies; December 2002</ref> Despite attempts to create multinational coalitions or legislative bodies (such as the United Nations), it became increasingly clear that the superpowers had very different visions about what the post-war world ought to look like and after the withdrawal of British aid to ] in 1947, the United States took the lead in ] ] in the ].<ref>Robert Frazier, 'Did Britain Start the Cold War? Bevin and the Truman Doctrine', ''Historical Journal'', Vol. 27, No. 3 (Sep. 1984), pp. 715–727.</ref>

The two countries opposed each other ideologically, politically, militarily, and economically. The Soviet Union promoted the ideology of ], ], and a ] while the United States promoted the ideologies of ] and the ] in a ] ]. This was reflected in the ] and ] military alliances, respectively, as most of Europe became aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union. These alliances implied that these two nations were part of an emerging ] world, in contrast with a previously multipolar world. {{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

The idea that the Cold War period revolved around only two blocs, or even only two nations, has been challenged by some 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 that occurred without influence from either of the two superpowers.<ref> by Signal Alpha News Achieve Press 2005</ref> Additionally, much of the conflict between the superpowers was fought in ]s, which more often than not involved issues more complex than the standard Cold War oppositions.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928145126/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/fordham.htm |date=28 September 2012 }} Benjamin O. Fordham by World Peace Foundation; Massachusetts Institute of Technology April 1998</ref>

After the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s, the term hyperpower began to be applied to the United States as the sole remaining superpower of the Cold War era.<ref name="Nossal" /> This term, popularized by French foreign minister ] in the late 1990s, is controversial and the validity of classifying the United States in this way is disputed. One notable opponent to this theory is ], who rejects this theory in favor of a multipolar ]. Other international relations theorists such as ] theorize that because the threat of the Soviet Union no longer exists to formerly American-dominated regions such as Western Europe and Japan, American influence is only declining since the end of the Cold War because such regions no longer need protection or have necessarily similar foreign policies as the United States.<ref>Henry Kissinger, '''', pp. 24, 26</ref>{{clear}}

== After the Cold War ==
{{see also|Second Cold War}}
]
] trading floor. Economic power such as a large ] and a world ] are important factors in the projection of ].]]
After the ] in 1991 which ended the ], the ] world has in the past been considered by some to be a ] world,<ref name="Krauthammer1">Charles Krauthammer, , ''Foreign Policy Magazine'' (1991).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaikoforum.com/P03_19_122.pdf |title=www.gaikoforum.com |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref> with the United States as the world's sole remaining superpower.<ref>, BBC News. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref> In 1999, political scientist and author ] wrote: "The United States, of course, is the sole state with preeminence in every domain of power – economic, military, diplomatic, ideological, technological, and cultural – with the reach and capabilities to promote its interests in virtually every part of the world". However, Huntington rejected the claim that the world was unipolar, arguing: "There is now only one superpower. But that does not mean that the world is unipolar", describing it instead as "a strange hybrid, a uni-multipolar system with one superpower and several major powers". He further wrote that "Washington is blind to the fact that it no longer enjoys the dominance it had at the end of the Cold War. It must relearn the game of international politics as a major power, not a superpower, and make compromises".<ref name="affairs">{{cite web|url=http://www-stage.foreignaffairs.org/19990301faessay966/samuel-p-huntington/the-lonely-superpower.html|title=The Lonely Superpower|work=Foreign Affairs|first=Samuel P.|last=Huntington|date=27 April 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427150630/http://www-stage.foreignaffairs.org/19990301faessay966/samuel-p-huntington/the-lonely-superpower.html|archive-date=27 April 2006}}</ref>

Experts argue that this older single-superpower assessment of ] is too simplified, in part because of the difficulty in classifying the European Union at its current stage of development. Others argue that the notion of a superpower is outdated, considering complex global economic interdependencies and propose that the world is ].<ref name="The Global list (No superpower)">{{cite web|url=http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/printStoryId.aspx?StoryId=3553|title=The Multipolar World Vs. The Superpower|work=The Globalist|first=Sherle|last=Schwenninger|date=5 December 2003|access-date=2006-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613215234/http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/printStoryId.aspx?StoryId=3553 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=2006-06-13}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post (No superpower)">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/03/AR2006030302055.html|title=The Multipolar Unilateralist|access-date=2006-06-10 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=5 March 2006 |first=David |last=Von Drehle}}</ref><ref name="Globalpolicy.org (No superpower)">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/challenges/competitors/2005/0315chinapower.htm|title=No Longer the "Lone" Superpower|access-date=2006-06-11}}</ref><ref name="A Times (No superpower)">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED05Ak01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030406200825/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED05Ak01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=6 April 2003|title=The war that may end the age of superpower |work=Asia Times|author=Henry C K Liu|date=5 April 2003|access-date=2006-06-11}}</ref>

A 2012 report by the ] predicted that the United States superpower status will have eroded to merely being first among equals by 2030, but that it would remain highest among the world's most powerful countries because of its influence in many different fields and global connections that the great regional powers of the time would not match.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Additionally, some experts have suggested the possibility of the United States losing its superpower status completely in the future, citing speculation of its decline in power relative to the rest of the world, economic hardships, a declining dollar, Cold War allies becoming less dependent on the United States, and the emergence of future powers around the world.<ref name="uiuc-superpower">Unger J (2008), '']''</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Almond |first=Steve |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/22/american_decline |title=Seizing American supremacy |work=Salon.com |date=22 August 2007 |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Leonardo |last=Martinez-Diaz |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/0428us_economics_martinez-diaz.aspx |title=U.S.: A Losing Superpower? |publisher=Brookings.edu |date=28 April 2007 |access-date=2010-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602232730/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/0428us_economics_martinez-diaz.aspx |archive-date=2010-06-02}}</ref>

According to a ] paper by American diplomat ], Professor Howard J. Shatz, and policy analyst Ali Wyne, Russia in the breakdown of a disintegrating unipolar world order, while not a peer competitor to the United States, would still remain a player and a potential ] that would undermine global affairs. The West could ] Russia with methods like those employed during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, though this would be tested by Russia's overt and covert efforts to destabilize Western alliances and political systems. On the other hand, China is a peer competitor to the United States that cannot be contained, and will be a far more challenging entity for the West to confront. The authors state that China's military dominance in the Asia-Pacific is already eroding American influence at a rapid pace, and the costs for the US to defend its interests there will continue to rise. Moreover, China's economic influence has already broken out of its regional confines long ago and is on track to directly contest the US role as the center for economic trade and commerce.<ref name="RAND Corporation-October-2018">{{Cite report|author1=Dobbins, James |author2=Shatz, Howard |author3=Wyne, Ali |title=Russia Is a Rogue, Not a Peer; China Is a Peer, Not a Rogue: Different Challenges, Different Responses|url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE310.html|publisher=]|date=2018}}</ref><ref name="Sage Journals-January-16-2018">{{Cite journal|author1=Maher, Paul J |author2=Igou, Eric R |author3=van Tilburg, Wijnand A.P. |title=Brexit, Trump, and the Polarizing Effect of Disillusionment|journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science|volume=9|issue=2|pages=205–213|publisher=]|date= 16 January 2018|doi=10.1177/1948550617750737|s2cid=149195975|url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/brexit-trump-and-the-polarizing-effect-of-disillusionment(5e1bccd1-d580-461b-abe3-cbaceafd5a1d).html}}</ref><ref name="Deutsche Welle-September-18-2018">{{Cite news|author=Janjevic, Darko |title=Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban's special relationship|url=https://www.dw.com/en/vladimir-putin-and-viktor-orbans-special-relationship/a-45512712|publisher=]|date= 18 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="The Conversation-March-22-2019">{{Cite news|author=King, Winnie |title=Italy joins China's Belt and Road Initiative – here's how it exposes cracks in Europe and the G7|url=https://theconversation.com/italy-joins-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-heres-how-it-exposes-cracks-in-europe-and-the-g7-114039|publisher=]|date= 22 March 2019}}</ref>

== Superpower collapse ==
===Soviet Union/Russia===
Dramatic changes occurred in the ] and the ] during ], with '']'' and '']'', the ] in November 1989, and finally the ] in December 1991. As early as 1970, ] had made ], and ] made a similar prediction in 1976.<ref>The final fall, Todd, 1976</ref> Due to Russia's capabilities of conventional warfare during the ] Russia was compared to a "] Superpower" by ].<ref>{{cite journal|author=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/putin-military-sanctions-weakness.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301041314/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/putin-military-sanctions-weakness.html|url-status=live|archive-date=1 March 2022|title=Russia Is a Potemkin Superpower|journal=]|date=28 February 2022|access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> Russia is a ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=William H |first=Boothby |date=10 March 2016 |title=13 Nuclear Weapons |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198728504.003.0013 |journal=Weapons and the Law of Armed Conflict |doi=10.1093/law/9780198728504.003.0013}}</ref>

=== British Empire/United Kingdom ===

The ] of 1956 is considered by some commentators to be the beginning of the end of Britain's period as a superpower,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/mar/14/past.education1 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Derek | last=Brown | title=1956: Suez and the end of empire | date=14 March 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5199392.stm | work=BBC News | first=Paul | last=Reynolds | title=Suez: End of empire | date=24 July 2006}}</ref><ref>History's worst decisions and the people who made them, pp. 167–172</ref> but other commentators have pointed much earlier such as in ], the ], the ], the return of the ] to the ] at its prewar parity in 1925, the ], the loss of wealth from ], the end of ] from the United States in 1945, the postwar ], the ], the beginning of decolonization and the independence of ] as other key points in Britain's decline and loss of superpower status.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom|title=United Kingdom {{!}} History, Geography, Facts, & Points of Interest|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-04-17}}</ref>

The Suez Crisis in particular is regarded by historians to be a political and diplomatic disaster for the British Empire, as it led to large-scale international condemnation, including extensive pressure from the United States and Soviet Union. This forced the British and the French to withdraw in embarrassment and cemented the increasingly-] Cold War politics between the ] and United States. In the 1960s, the movement for decolonization reached its peak, with remaining imperial holdings achieving independence, accelerating the transition from the ] to the ]. As the Empire continued to crumble, the ] of the United Kingdom later experienced deindustrialization throughout the 1970s, coupled with high inflation and industrial unrest that unraveled the ]. This led to some economists to refer to Britain as ]. In 1976, the United Kingdom had to seek assistance from the ] (IMF) which it had previously ironically helped create, receiving funding of $3.9&nbsp;billion, the largest-ever loan to be requested up until that point.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/imf-crisis.htm |title=National Archives |access-date= 17 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=NA-SterlingDevalued>{{cite web|title=Sterling devalued and the IMF loan|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/sterling-devalued-imf-loan.htm|website=The National Archives|access-date=17 December 2015}}</ref> In 1979, the country suffered major widespread strikes known as the ]. All these factors were seen by academics, economists and politicians as symbolising Britain's postwar decline. Lastly, the ] to China was seen by experts as the definitive end of the British Empire.

Nevertheless, the United Kingdom today has retained global ] in the 21st century, including a formidable military. The United Kingdom continues to have a permanent seat on the ] alongside only four other powers, and is one of the nine nuclear powers. Its capital city, London, continues to be regarded as one of the pre-eminent cities in the world, being ranked as a ] by the Mori Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Power City Index 2020|url=http://www.mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/ius2/gpci2/2020.shtml|access-date=2021-06-02|website=The Mori Memorial Foundation}}</ref> In 2022, the United Kingdom was ranked the foremost European country in terms of soft power by Brand Finance.<ref name="Global soft power index">{{cite web|url= https://brandfinance.com/press-releases/global-soft-power-index-2022-usa-bounces-back-better-to-top-of-nation-brand-ranking|title= Global Soft Power Index 2022: USA bounces back better to top of nation brand ranking|website=brandfinance.com|date= 15 March 2022|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref> However, it has been assumed by economists that more recent economic difficulties since the 2010s exacerbated by ], a ], ] and ] may have caused further permanent damage and erosion to Britain's lingering power.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 May 2022 |title=The incredible shrinking Global Britain |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/the-incredible-shrinking-global-britain/ |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=POLITICO |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== United States ===
{{see also|American decline}}

In '']''<ref>Todd, Constable, 2001</ref> (2001), French sociologist Emmanuel Todd predicts the eventual decline and fall of the United States as a superpower. "After years of being perceived as a problem-solver, the US itself has now become a problem for the rest of the world." Since the 2010s, as a result of ] within the United States, as well as globally perceived ] failures, and China's growing influence around the world, some academics and geopolitical experts have argued that the United States may already be experiencing a decay in its ] around the world.<ref name="Foreign Policy piece">{{cite web|url= https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/28/us-global-power-values-roe-v-wade-guns/ |title=America Is Losing Its Value Proposition |website=Foreign Policy |first= Howard W. |last=French |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="Stanford commentary">{{cite web |url=https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/soft-war-america-losing |title=The Soft War That America Is Losing |publisher=Stanford University |first=Aynne |last=Kokas |date=15 January 2021 |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>

==Superpower disengagement==
Superpower disengagement is a ] option whereby the most powerful nations, the superpowers, reduce their interventions in an area. Such disengagement could be multilateral among superpowers or lesser powers, or bilateral between two superpowers, or unilateral. It could mean an end to either direct or indirect interventions. For instance, disengagement could mean that the superpowers remove their support of proxies in ]s to de-escalate a superpower conflict back to a local problem based on local disputes. Disengagement can create buffers between superpowers that might prevent conflicts or reduce the intensity of conflicts.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The term usually refers to various policy proposals during the ] which attempted to defuse tensions between the ] and the United States, largely because of the risk of any superpower conflict to escalate to ]. Examples of one-sided disengagement include when ] decided to end Soviet support for the communist ]s in ] during the ], and when ] withdrew US troops from Vietnam in the early 1970s.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The more important candidates for disengagement were where Soviet and US forces faced each other directly such as in Germany and ]. The ] is an example of formal, multilateral, superpower disengagement which left Austria as neutral for the duration of the Cold War, with Austria staying out of the ], ], and the ]. The 1952 ] is perhaps the most controversial proposal of superpower disengagement from Germany.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Layne |first1=Christopher |title=Superpower Disengagement |journal=Foreign Policy |date=1989 |issue=77 |pages=17–40 |doi=10.2307/1148767 |jstor=1148767 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1148767 |access-date=2 February 2024 |issn=0015-7228}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwarz |first1=Benjamin |title=It's Time to Disrupt NATO |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/time-disrupt-nato/ |access-date=2 February 2024 |date=11 July 2018|work=]}}</ref>

== Potential superpowers ==
{{main|Potential superpower}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Superpower.svg|thumb|300px|'''Extant superpower'''
{{legend|#ffff00|United States}}
'''Potential superpowers'''—supported in varying degrees by academics
{{legend|#ff0000|China}}
{{legend|#000080|European Union}}
{{legend|#00ff00 |India}}
{{legend|#ff6600|Russia}}]]

The term potential superpowers has been applied by scholars and other qualified commentators to the possibility of several political entities achieving superpower status in the 21st century. Due to their large markets, growing military strength, economic potential, and influence in international affairs, China,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19995218 |title=What kind of superpower could China be? |work=] |date=19 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=848 |title=China as a global power |publisher=China.usc.edu |date=13 November 2007 |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref><ref>CNN (1999). Visions of China. CNN Specials, 1999. Retrieved on 11 March 2007 from http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/.</ref> the European Union,<ref name="Mark1" /> India,<ref>Meredith, R (2008) ''The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us'', "W.W Norton and Company" {{ISBN|978-0-393-33193-6}}</ref> and Russia<ref>{{cite book |title=Russia in the 21st Century |publisher=] Press |date=February 2005 |last=Rosefielde |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Rosefielde |isbn=978-0-521-54529-7 |url=http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/economics/international-economics/russia-21st-century-prodigal-superpower}}</ref> are among the political entities most cited as having the potential of achieving superpower status in the 21st century. In 2020, a new ] survey found that 57% of global investors predicted that China would replace the U.S. as the world's biggest superpower by 2030.<ref>{{cite news |last=Saloway |first=Scott |title=China will replace the US as the world's biggest superpower by 2030: UBS survey |language=en |publisher=Yahoo Finance (]) |date=24 January 2020 |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ubs-survey-china-world-superpower-185949233.html}}</ref> However, many historians, writers, and critics have expressed doubts whether China or India would ever emerge as a new superpower.<ref>{{cite news |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |title=Why India Will Not Become a Superpower |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17350650 |publisher=] |access-date=2012-04-29 |date=13 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Yuanan |first=Zhang |url=http://www.worldcrunch.com/business-finance/why-china-is-still-no-superpower/china-usa-economy-superpower-confucius/c2s12860/#.UyNI_j-SxA0 |title=Why China Is Still No Superpower |access-date=2014-03-14 |date=31 July 2013}}</ref> Some political scientists and other commentators have even suggested that such countries might simply be ]s, as opposed to potential superpowers.<ref name="BRICS">{{cite web |url=http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/China_Monitor_JUNE_2010.pdf |title=The Centre for Chinese Studies – Study of China and East Asia on the African continent |website=www.ccs.org.za |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204011005/http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/China_Monitor_JUNE_2010.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-04}}</ref> The European Union has been called a "regulatory superpower" due to the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=dmalloy |date=15 June 2023 |title=The world's regulatory superpower is taking on a regulatory nightmare: artificial intelligence |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/the-worlds-regulatory-superpower-is-taking-on-a-regulatory-nightmare-artificial-intelligence/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=kdaponte |date=24 May 2023 |title=Meta fine shows EU is 'regulatory superpower,' Northeastern expert says |url=https://cssh.northeastern.edu/meta-fine-shows-eu-is-regulatory-superpower-northeastern-expert-says/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=College of Social Sciences and Humanities |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bradford |first=Anu |date=1 March 2020 |title=The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World |url=https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/232 |journal=Faculty Books|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190088583.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-008858-3 }}</ref>

The record of such predictions has not been perfect. For example, in the 1980s, some commentators thought Japan would ] due to its large GDP and ].<ref> 1988 article "Japan From Superrich To Superpower"</ref> However, ], creating a long period of economic slump in the country which has become known as the '']''.

Increasing doubts have emerged around the potential of Russia to gain superpower status given its declining economy, severe military underperformance during the ], and its loss of influence in Central Asia, a region once dominated by Moscow for centuries.<ref name="CNBC1">{{cite news |last1=Gamble |first1=Hadley |title=EU foreign policy chief dismisses Russia's superpower status, doubts Trump will pay Syria bill |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/20/eu-foreign-policy-russia-trump-syria.html |access-date=3 August 2023 |agency=CNBC |date=20 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="Krugman1">{{cite news |last1=Krugman |first1=Paul |title=View: Russia is a Potemkin superpower. The Ukrainian invasion has made that clear |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/view-russia-is-a-potemkin-superpower-the-ukrainian-invasion-has-made-that-clear/articleshow/89916470.cms |access-date=3 August 2023 |agency=The Economic Times |work=The New York Times |date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="Von Drehle1">{{cite news |last1=Von Drehle |first1=David |title=War proves that Russia is no longer a superpower |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/15/ukraine-war-proves-russia-no-longer-a-superpower/ |access-date=3 August 2023 |agency=The Washington Post |date=15 March 2022}}</ref>


== See also == == See also ==

Revision as of 06:53, 21 December 2024

State with extensive power or influence over much of the world

This article is about the geographic and political term. For the fictional superhuman abilities, see Superpower (ability). For other uses, see Superpower (disambiguation).

Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political, and cultural strength as well as diplomatic and soft power influence. Traditionally, superpowers are preeminent among the great powers. While a great power state is capable of exerting its influence globally, superpowers are states so influential that no significant action can be taken by the global community without first considering the positions of the superpowers on the issue.

In 1944, during World War II, the term was first applied to the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States. During the Cold War, the British Empire dissolved, leaving the United States and the Soviet Union to dominate world affairs. At the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States became the world's sole superpower, a position sometimes referred to as that of a "hyperpower". Since the late 2010s and into the 2020s, China has increasingly been described as an emerging superpower or even an established one, as China represents the "biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century" to the United States, as it is "the only country with enough power to jeopardize the current global order".

Origin

A world map in 1945. According to William T. R. Fox, the United States (blue), the Soviet Union (red), and the British Empire (teal) were superpowers.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin, meeting at the Yalta Conference in Crimea in February 1945, near the end of World War II

No agreed definition of what a superpower is exists and may differ between sources. However, a fundamental characteristic that is consistent with all definitions of a superpower is a nation or state that has mastered the seven dimensions of state power, namely geography, population, economy, resources, military, diplomacy, and national identity.

The term was first used to describe nations with greater than great power status as early as 1944, but only gained its specific meaning with regard to the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. This was because the United States and the Soviet Union had proved themselves to be capable of casting great influence in global politics and military dominance. The term in its current political meaning was coined by Dutch-American geostrategist Nicholas Spykman in a series of lectures in 1943 about the potential shape of a new post-war world order. This formed the foundation for the book The Geography of the Peace, which referred primarily to the unmatched maritime global supremacy of the British Empire and the United States as essential for peace and prosperity in the world.

A year later, William T. R. Fox, an American foreign policy professor, elaborated on the concept in the book The Superpowers: The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union — Their Responsibility for Peace which spoke of the global reach of a super-empowered nation. Fox used the word superpower to identify a new category of power able to occupy the highest status in a world in which—as the war then raging demonstrated—states could challenge and fight each other on a global scale. According to him, at that moment, there were three states that were superpowers, namely the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The British Empire was the most extensive empire in world history and considered the foremost great power, holding sway over 25% of the world's population and controlling about 25% of the Earth's total land area, while the United States and the Soviet Union grew in power before and during World War II. The UK would face serious political, financial, and colonial issues after World War II that left it unable to match Soviet or American power. Ultimately, Britain's empire would gradually dissolve over the course of the 20th century, sharply reducing its global power projection.

According to Lyman Miller, "he basic components of superpower stature may be measured along four axes of power: military, economic, political, and cultural (or what political scientist Joseph Nye has termed "soft power")".

In the opinion of Kim Richard Nossal of Queen's University in Canada, "generally, this term was used to signify a political community that occupied a continental-sized landmass; had a sizable population (relative at least to other major powers); a superordinate economic capacity, including ample indigenous supplies of food and natural resources; enjoyed a high degree of non-dependence on international intercourse; and, most importantly, had a well-developed nuclear capacity (eventually, normally defined as second strike capability)".

In the opinion of Professor Paul Dukes, "a superpower must be able to conduct a global strategy, including the possibility of destroying the world; to command vast economic potential and influence; and to present a universal ideology". Although "many modifications may be made to this basic definition". According to Professor June Teufel Dreyer, " superpower must be able to project its power, soft and hard, globally". In his book Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World, Dr. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, argues that a superpower is "a country that can exert enough military, political, and economic power to persuade nations in every region of the world to take important actions they would not otherwise take".

Apart from its common denotation of the foremost post-WWII states, the term superpower has colloquially been applied by some authors retrospectively to describe various preeminent ancient great empires or medieval great powers, in works such as Channel 5 (UK)'s documentary Rome: The World's First Superpower or the reference in The New Cambridge Medieval History to "the other superpower, Sasanian Persia".

During the Cold War

Further information: Cold War See also: Soviet Union–United States relations
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This map shows two global spheres during the Cold War in 1980:   NATO member states   Other NATO and United States allies × Anti-communist guerrillas   Warsaw Pact member states   Socialist states allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact   Other allies of the Soviet Union × Communist guerrillas   Socialist states not allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact   Neutral nations × Other conflicts

The 1956 Suez Crisis suggested that Britain, financially weakened by two world wars, could not then pursue its foreign policy objectives on an equal footing with the new superpowers without sacrificing convertibility of its reserve currency as a central goal of policy. As the majority of World War II had been fought far from its national boundaries, the United States had not suffered the industrial destruction nor massive civilian casualties that marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia. The war had reinforced the position of the United States as the world's largest long-term creditor nation and its principal supplier of goods; moreover, it had built up a strong industrial and technological infrastructure that had greatly advanced its military strength into a primary position on the global stage. Despite attempts to create multinational coalitions or legislative bodies (such as the United Nations), it became increasingly clear that the superpowers had very different visions about what the post-war world ought to look like and after the withdrawal of British aid to Greece in 1947, the United States took the lead in containing Soviet expansion in the Cold War.

The two countries opposed each other ideologically, politically, militarily, and economically. The Soviet Union promoted the ideology of Marxism–Leninism, planned economy, and a one-party state while the United States promoted the ideologies of liberal democracy and the free market in a capitalist market economy. This was reflected in the Warsaw Pact and NATO military alliances, respectively, as most of Europe became aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union. These alliances implied that these two nations were part of an emerging bipolar world, in contrast with a previously multipolar world.

The idea that the Cold War period revolved around only two blocs, or even only two nations, has been challenged by some 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 that occurred without influence from either of the two superpowers. Additionally, much of the conflict between the superpowers was fought in proxy wars, which more often than not involved issues more complex than the standard Cold War oppositions.

After the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s, the term hyperpower began to be applied to the United States as the sole remaining superpower of the Cold War era. This term, popularized by French foreign minister Hubert Védrine in the late 1990s, is controversial and the validity of classifying the United States in this way is disputed. One notable opponent to this theory is Samuel P. Huntington, who rejects this theory in favor of a multipolar balance of power. Other international relations theorists such as Henry Kissinger theorize that because the threat of the Soviet Union no longer exists to formerly American-dominated regions such as Western Europe and Japan, American influence is only declining since the end of the Cold War because such regions no longer need protection or have necessarily similar foreign policies as the United States.

After the Cold War

See also: Second Cold War
Countries with the military bases and facilities of the present sole superpower – the United States
The New York Stock Exchange trading floor. Economic power such as a large nominal GDP and a world reserve currency are important factors in the projection of hard power.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 which ended the Cold War, the post–Cold War world has in the past been considered by some to be a unipolar world, with the United States as the world's sole remaining superpower. In 1999, political scientist and author Samuel P. Huntington wrote: "The United States, of course, is the sole state with preeminence in every domain of power – economic, military, diplomatic, ideological, technological, and cultural – with the reach and capabilities to promote its interests in virtually every part of the world". However, Huntington rejected the claim that the world was unipolar, arguing: "There is now only one superpower. But that does not mean that the world is unipolar", describing it instead as "a strange hybrid, a uni-multipolar system with one superpower and several major powers". He further wrote that "Washington is blind to the fact that it no longer enjoys the dominance it had at the end of the Cold War. It must relearn the game of international politics as a major power, not a superpower, and make compromises".

Experts argue that this older single-superpower assessment of global politics is too simplified, in part because of the difficulty in classifying the European Union at its current stage of development. Others argue that the notion of a superpower is outdated, considering complex global economic interdependencies and propose that the world is multipolar.

A 2012 report by the National Intelligence Council predicted that the United States superpower status will have eroded to merely being first among equals by 2030, but that it would remain highest among the world's most powerful countries because of its influence in many different fields and global connections that the great regional powers of the time would not match. Additionally, some experts have suggested the possibility of the United States losing its superpower status completely in the future, citing speculation of its decline in power relative to the rest of the world, economic hardships, a declining dollar, Cold War allies becoming less dependent on the United States, and the emergence of future powers around the world.

According to a RAND Corporation paper by American diplomat James Dobbins, Professor Howard J. Shatz, and policy analyst Ali Wyne, Russia in the breakdown of a disintegrating unipolar world order, while not a peer competitor to the United States, would still remain a player and a potential rogue state that would undermine global affairs. The West could contain Russia with methods like those employed during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, though this would be tested by Russia's overt and covert efforts to destabilize Western alliances and political systems. On the other hand, China is a peer competitor to the United States that cannot be contained, and will be a far more challenging entity for the West to confront. The authors state that China's military dominance in the Asia-Pacific is already eroding American influence at a rapid pace, and the costs for the US to defend its interests there will continue to rise. Moreover, China's economic influence has already broken out of its regional confines long ago and is on track to directly contest the US role as the center for economic trade and commerce.

Potential superpowers

Main article: Potential superpower

Extant superpower   United States Potential superpowers—supported in varying degrees by academics   China   European Union   India   Russia

The term potential superpowers has been applied by scholars and other qualified commentators to the possibility of several political entities achieving superpower status in the 21st century. Due to their large markets, growing military strength, economic potential, and influence in international affairs, China, the European Union, India, and Russia are among the political entities most cited as having the potential of achieving superpower status in the 21st century. In 2020, a new UBS survey found that 57% of global investors predicted that China would replace the U.S. as the world's biggest superpower by 2030. However, many historians, writers, and critics have expressed doubts whether China or India would ever emerge as a new superpower. Some political scientists and other commentators have even suggested that such countries might simply be emerging powers, as opposed to potential superpowers. The European Union has been called a "regulatory superpower" due to the Brussels effect.

The record of such predictions has not been perfect. For example, in the 1980s, some commentators thought Japan would become a superpower due to its large GDP and high economic growth at the time. However, Japan's economy crashed in 1991, creating a long period of economic slump in the country which has become known as the Lost Decades.

Increasing doubts have emerged around the potential of Russia to gain superpower status given its declining economy, severe military underperformance during the invasion of Ukraine, and its loss of influence in Central Asia, a region once dominated by Moscow for centuries.

Superpower collapse

Soviet Union

Dramatic changes occurred in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc during the 1980s and early 1990s, with perestroika and glasnost, the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and finally the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. As early as 1970, Andrei Amalrik had made predictions of Soviet collapse, and Emmanuel Todd made a similar prediction in 1976. Due to Russia's capabilities of conventional warfare during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russia was compared to a "Potemkin Superpower" by Paul Krugman. Russia is a nuclear-weapon state.

British Empire

The Suez Crisis of 1956 is considered by some commentators to be the beginning of the end of Britain's period as a superpower, but other commentators have pointed much earlier such as in World War I, the Depression of 1920–21, the Partition of Ireland, the return of the pound sterling to the gold standard at its prewar parity in 1925, the Fall of Singapore, the loss of wealth from World War II, the end of Lend-Lease Aid from the United States in 1945, the postwar Age of Austerity, the Winter of 1946–47, the beginning of decolonization and the independence of British India as other key points in Britain's decline and loss of superpower status.

The Suez Crisis in particular is regarded by historians to be a political and diplomatic disaster for the British Empire, as it led to large-scale international condemnation, including extensive pressure from the United States and Soviet Union. This forced the British and the French to withdraw in embarrassment and cemented the increasingly-bipolar Cold War politics between the Soviet Union and United States. In the 1960s, the movement for decolonization reached its peak, with remaining imperial holdings achieving independence, accelerating the transition from the British Empire to the Commonwealth of Nations. As the Empire continued to crumble, the home islands of the United Kingdom later experienced deindustrialization throughout the 1970s, coupled with high inflation and industrial unrest that unraveled the postwar consensus. This led to some economists to refer to Britain as the Sick Man of Europe. In 1976, the United Kingdom had to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which it had previously ironically helped create, receiving funding of $3.9 billion, the largest-ever loan to be requested up until that point. In 1979, the country suffered major widespread strikes known as the Winter of Discontent. All these factors were seen by academics, economists and politicians as symbolising Britain's postwar decline. Lastly, the Handover of Hong Kong to China was seen by experts as the definitive end of the British Empire.

Nevertheless, the United Kingdom today has retained global soft power in the 21st century, including a formidable military. The United Kingdom continues to have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council alongside only four other powers, and is one of the nine nuclear powers. Its capital city, London, continues to be regarded as one of the pre-eminent cities in the world, being ranked as a global city by the Mori Foundation. In 2022, the United Kingdom was ranked the foremost European country in terms of soft power by Brand Finance.

United States

See also: American decline

In After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order (2001), French sociologist Emmanuel Todd predicts the eventual decline and fall of the United States as a superpower. "After years of being perceived as a problem-solver, the US itself has now become a problem for the rest of the world." Since the 2010s, as a result of asymmetric polarization within the United States, as well as globally perceived U.S. foreign policy failures, and China's growing influence around the world, some academics and geopolitical experts have argued that the United States may already be experiencing a decay in its soft power around the world.

Superpower disengagement

Superpower disengagement is a foreign policy option whereby the most powerful nations, the superpowers, reduce their interventions in an area. Such disengagement could be multilateral among superpowers or lesser powers, or bilateral between two superpowers, or unilateral. It could mean an end to either direct or indirect interventions. For instance, disengagement could mean that the superpowers remove their support of proxies in proxy wars to de-escalate a superpower conflict back to a local problem based on local disputes. Disengagement can create buffers between superpowers that might prevent conflicts or reduce the intensity of conflicts.

The term usually refers to various policy proposals during the Cold War which attempted to defuse tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, largely because of the risk of any superpower conflict to escalate to nuclear war. Examples of one-sided disengagement include when Joseph Stalin decided to end Soviet support for the communist guerrillas in Greece during the Greek Civil War, and when Richard Nixon withdrew US troops from Vietnam in the early 1970s.

The more important candidates for disengagement were where Soviet and US forces faced each other directly such as in Germany and Austria. The Austrian State Treaty is an example of formal, multilateral, superpower disengagement which left Austria as neutral for the duration of the Cold War, with Austria staying out of the Warsaw Pact, NATO, and the European Economic Community. The 1952 Stalin Note is perhaps the most controversial proposal of superpower disengagement from Germany.

Proposed early superpowers

These are proposed examples of ancient or historical superpowers, taking into account that the knowledge of what the "known world" comprised was extremely limited in past eras (for example, Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas and Australia only after the Age of Discovery, which began in the late 15th century, and prior to this era, they had a very limited knowledge about East Asia as well).

Archaic globalization (before 1500)

Main article: Archaic globalization

Many of the nations of this historical period were never superpowers, however they were regional powers with influence in their respective regions.

Note: Does not take into account city-states and stateless nomadic peoples.

Bronze Age

Fertile Crescent in the Early Bronze Age

In the early history of both regions contact between these civilization was very limited, long distance trade definitely occurred but primarily through long chains of intermediaries rather than directly.

Fertile Crescent in the Middle Bronze Age

Really regular contact between Egypt, Mesopotamia and Anatolia really dates from this period. Mitanni was an important intermediary in the trade between these civilizations.

Fertile Crescent and Mediterranean Sea in the Late Bronze Age

Known by the Minoans and Mycenaean Greeks:

Indian subcontinent

Contact with other civilizations was very limited, long distance trade with Mesopotamia definitely occurred but primarily through long chains of intermediaries rather than directly.

East Asia
Mesoamerica
  • Olmec civilization (isolated civilization, little information about their type of government)
Andes

Classical antiquity

Indian subcontinent
Known world by the ancient Greeks before the Hellenistic period
Known world by the ancient Romans in their republican era

The Drachma, minted by many states, most notably in the Ptolemaic Egypt was the reserve currency in the Mediterranean and Near East

Known world by the ancient Romans in their imperial era

Main reserve currency in the Mediterranean and Near East: Roman Denarius, later replaced by the Roman Solidus.

East Asia

Not fully known outside East Asia. The West knew of these powers because of the Silk Road, although little information reached them.

Mesoamerica

Isolated civilizations in relation to the Afro-Eurasia.

Andes

Isolated civilization in relation to Afro-Eurasia.

Post-Classical Age

Known world by Medieval Europeans and Middle Easterners

Main reserve currency in the Mediterranean and Near East: Roman Solidus, later replaced by the Dinar, minted by the Caliphates.

Sub-Saharan Africa

During the Middle Ages the region was known by Arab merchants. Europeans were aware that the region existed (to the point that Mansa Musa was mentioned in the Catalan Atlas), but little information about the place reached Europe.

Mesoamerica

Isolated civilization in relation to the Afro-Eurasia.

South America

Isolated civilizations in relation to the Afro-Eurasia.

Proto-globalization (1500–1800)

Main article: Proto-globalization

The Age of Discovery brought a broad change in globalization, being the first period in which previously isolated parts of the world became connected to form the world system, and the first colonial empires of the early modern age emerged, such as the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French empires. The British Empire, after its Glorious Revolution in 1688 and its pioneering role in the industrialization process in the 18th century would lead to its global hegemony in the 19th century and early 20th century (before the World War I).

The contact between distant civilizations was highly facilitated as well as the mapping of a large part of the planet, with people in this historical period having a better understanding of the global map of the Planet Earth.

Modern globalization (1800–1945)

Main article: Modern globalization

According to historical statistics and research from the OECD, until the early modern period, Western Europe, China, and India accounted for roughly ⅔ of the world's GDP.

See also

References

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