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{{Short description|Entity speculated to be or become a superpower}}
{{pp-protected|expiry=2014-01-11 19:30:50|small=yes}}{{Further|Emerging powers|Second Superpower|Superpower|Great power|Power (international relations)}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=May 2020}}
]s during the 21st century.
[[File:Superpower.svg|thumb|300px|
{{legend|#edd400|<big>The ], a current superpower. </big><small><ref>, BBC News, Accessed July 22, 2008</ref><ref name="Paper for presentation at the biennial meetings of the South African Political Studies Association Saldanha, Western Cape 29 June-2 July 1999">{{cite web|url=http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm|title=Analyzing American Power in the Post-Cold War Era|accessdate=2007-02-28}}</ref></small>}}
'''Extant superpower'''
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'''Potential superpowers'''—supported in varying degrees by academics
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A '''potential superpower''' is a state or a political and economic entity that is speculated to be, or is in the process of becoming, a ] at some point in the 21st century. Presently, only the ] fulfils the criteria to be considered a superpower.<ref>{{cite web | title = The Lonely Superpower | url = http://homepages.stmartin.edu/Fac_Staff/rlangill/PLS%20300/The%20Lonely%20Superpower.htm | publisher = Huntington, Samuel P. | year = 1999 | accessdate = 2010-08-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower?, Analyzing American Power in the Post-Cold War Era | url = http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm | publisher = Kim Richard Nossal | year = 1999 | accessdate = 2010-08-04}}</ref> States most commonly mentioned as being potential superpowers are ],<ref name="cornellsun.com">{{cite web|last=Martinez |first=Patricio |url=http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/11/01/alumna-analyzes-brazil%E2%80%99s-emergence |title=Alumna Analyzes Brazil’s Emergence &#124; The Cornell Daily Sun |publisher=Cornellsun.com |date=2009-11-02 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref name="brazzil.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.brazzil.com/articles/195-august-2008/10098-while-the-us-looks-eastward-brazil-is-emerging-as-a-nuclear-superpower.html |title=While the US Looks Eastward Brazil Is Emerging as a Nuclear Superpower |publisher=Brazzil.com |date=2008-08-12 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}<ref name="transnational.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.transnational.org/SAJT/forum/power/2006/06.03_Brazil_Superpower.html |title=Brazil is becoming an economic and political superpower |publisher=Transnational.org |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>{{dead link|date=April 2013}} ],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/jun/15/comment.china | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=This is the relationship that will define global politics | first=Martin | last=Jacques | date=2006-06-15 | accessdate=2010-05-22}}</ref> ], ]<ref name="Russia in the 21st Century">Rosefielde, S (2004) , ''Cambridge University Press''</ref><ref name="georgiandaily.com">New York Times by Ronald Steel professor of international relations August 24, 2008 (Superpower Reborn)</ref> (the ] countries), and the ],<ref name=autogenerated4>Guttman, R.J. (2001) , ''Lynne Rienner Publishers''</ref> based on a variety of factors. Collectively, these potential superpowers and the ] comprise ], ] (EU alone well above 20%), more than one third of the total land area and more than 50% of the world's population.
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A '''potential superpower''' is a ] or other ] that is speculated to be or have the potential to become a ]; a sovereign state or ] that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to ] and ] on a global scale through economic, military, technological, political, and/or cultural means.<ref name="Munro1">{{cite web |last1=Munro |first1=André |title=superpower |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/superpower |access-date=2 May 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref><ref name="Mark1">{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Mark |date=18 February 2005 |title=Europe: the new superpower |work=] |url=http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/leonard_irish_times_18feb05.html |access-date=31 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327034443/http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/leonard_irish_times_18feb05.html |archive-date=27 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McCormick |first=John |title=The European Superpower |date=2007 |publisher=] |author-link=John McCormick (political scientist)}}</ref>
Predictions made in the past have not been perfect. For example, in the 1980s, many political and economic analysts predicted that ] would eventually accede to superpower status, due to its large population, huge ] and high economic growth at that time.<ref>, ''TIME'' 4 July 1988</ref><ref name="Zakaria, F 2008">Zakaria, F (2008) The Post-American World, “W. W. Norton and Company” ISBN 978-0-393-06235-9 p. 210</ref> Though still the world's third-largest economy as of 2012 in terms of nominal GDP, Japan has faced an ongoing period of weak growth since the ] of the 1990s, and has been suffering from an ] since the early 2000s, eroding its potential as a superpower.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan eyes end to decades long deflation|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/17/japan-economy-estimate-idUSL4E8JH1TC20120817|author=Leika Kihara|publisher=Reuters|date=August 17, 2012|accessdate=September 7, 2012}}</ref>


After the ], which, following the ], is currently considered to be the world's ]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Yen Nee |date=2020-09-17 |title=The U.S. is still a dominant power — but it's not clear if it remains the global leader |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/17/us-is-still-a-dominant-power-but-it-may-not-be-the-global-leader.html |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> and sole widely undisputed<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathew Burrows |first=Robert A. Manning |date=2020-08-17 |title=What Happens When America Is No Longer the Undisputed Super Power? |url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-happens-when-america-no-longer-undisputed-super-power-166828 |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=The National Interest |language=en}}</ref>—and by some accounts only<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bremmer |first=Ian |date=2015-05-28 |title=5 Reasons Why the US Remains the World's Only Superpower |url=https://time.com/3899972/us-superpower-status-military/ |access-date=2024-07-15 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTKBdY5HBeUC&q=Canada%2520Among%2520Nations%252C%25202004%253A%2520Setting%2520Priorities+Straight |title=Canada Among Nations, 2004: Setting Priorities Straight |date=17 January 2005 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP |isbn=978-0-7735-2836-9 |page=85 |quote=The United States is the sole world's superpower. |access-date=15 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116145100/https://books.google.com/books?id=nTKBdY5HBeUC&q=Canada%2520Among%2520Nations%252C%25202004%253A%2520Setting%2520Priorities+Straight |archive-date=16 January 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dannatt |first=Richard |date=2024-04-14 |title=America has just reminded us there is only one world superpower |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/14/america-has-just-reminded-us-who-is-the-worlds-superpower/ |access-date=2024-07-15 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>—superpower, only ], the ], ], and ] have consistently been academically discussed as potential superpowers of the 21st century, with ] having been a former candidate in the 1980s.
==Brazil==
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The ''']''' is considered by a number of analysts and academics a potential superpower of the 21st century.<ref name="cornellsun.com"/><ref name="brazzil.com"/>


== China ==
In a 2009 lecture entitled ''Brazil as an Emerging World Power'',<ref name="cornellsun.com"/> presented at the ] Center for International Studies at ], Leslie Elliot Armijo has said that "Brazil will soon rise as ]’s first superpower." Armijo states that "Brazil keeps solidifying itself as leader of its region by launching a series of integration projects," adding also that "as an international actor, Brazil has also taken a larger share of world politics by incrementing its already strong presence in economic initiatives, such as the ] and the ]," asserting that "Brazil’s rising prominence derives from its solid democratic rule and its strong economy" and concluding that "Soon, we’ll have two superpowers in the ]."<ref name="cornellsun.com"/><ref>{{dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
{{Further|Chinese Century|China's peaceful rise|}}


The ] has arguably received the most consistent coverage in the popular press of its potential superpower status,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/ |title = Visions of China – Asian Superpower |website = CNN |year = 1999 |access-date=19 July 2014 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/01/china-military-presence-superpower-collision-japan |title = China's military presence is growing. Does a superpower collision loom? |website = The Guardian |date=1 January 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Cordesman, Anthony|date=1 October 2019|title=China and the United States: Cooperation, Competition, and/or Conflict|url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/china-and-united-states-cooperation-competition-andor-conflict|access-date=22 March 2021|journal=Center for Strategic and International Studies|quote=Seen from this perspective, such trends clearly that show that China already is a true economic superpower with growing resources and a steadily improving technology base. Its military structure is evolving to the point where China can compare or compete with the U.S. — at least in Asia.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Silver, Laura|author2=Devlin, Kat|author3=Huang, Christine|date=5 December 2019|title=China's Economic Growth Mostly Welcomed in Emerging Markets, but Neighbors Wary of Its Influence|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/12/05/chinas-economic-growth-mostly-welcomed-in-emerging-markets-but-neighbors-wary-of-its-influence/|access-date=22 March 2021|work=Pew Research Center|quote=China has emerged as a global economic superpower in recent decades. It is not only the world’s second largest economy and the largest exporter by value, but it has also been investing in overseas infrastructure and development at a rapid clip}}</ref><ref name="CNN_naval">{{cite news|author=Lendon, Brad|date=5 March 2021|title=China has built the world's largest navy. Now what's Beijing going to do with it?|publisher=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/china/china-world-biggest-navy-intl-hnk-ml-dst/index.html|access-date=22 March 2021|quote=In 2018, China held 40% of the world's shipbuilding market by gross tons, according to United Nations figures cited by the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, well ahead of second place South Korea at 25%. Put in a historical perspective, China's shipbuilding numbers are staggering – dwarfing even the U.S. efforts of World War II. China built more ships in one year of peace time (2019) than the U.S. did in four of war (1941–1945).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Lemahieu, Herve|date=29 May 2019|title=Five big takeaways from the 2019 Asia Power Index|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/power-shifts-fevered-times-2019-asia-power-index|access-date=22 March 2021|publisher=Lowy Institute|quote=China, the emerging superpower, netted the highest gains in overall power in 2019, ranking first in half of the eight Index measures. For the first time, China narrowly edged out the United States in the Index’s assessment of economic resources. In absolute terms China’s economy grew by more than the total size of Australia’s economy in 2018. The world’s largest trading nation has also paradoxically seen its GDP become less dependent on exports. This makes China less vulnerable to an escalating trade war than most other Asian economies.}}</ref> and has been identified as a rising or emerging economic and military superpower by academics and other experts.<ref>{{cite web |first = Chito | last=Romana |url = https://abcnews.go.com/International/china-replace-us-top-superpower/story?id=9986355 |title = Does China Want to Be Top Superpower? |website = Abcnews.go.com |date = 2 March 2010 |access-date = 10 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://carnegieendowment.org/2006/02/09/from-rural-transformation-to-global-integration-environmental-and-social-impacts-of-china-s-rise-to-superpower/dfi |title = From Rural Transformation to Global Integration: The Environmental and Social Impacts of China's Rise to Superpower – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |date=9 February 2006 |access-date = 10 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.getabstract.com/en/summary/global-business/china-the-balance-sheet/6584/?isbn= |title = China: The Balance Sheet Summary |website = getabstract.com |year = 2006 |access-date = 19 July 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first = Merri B. |last = Uckert |url = http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc/uckertmb.pdf |title = China As An Economic and Military Superpower: A Dangerous Combination? |date = April 1995 |access-date = 10 February 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130115145821/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc/uckertmb.pdf |archive-date = 15 January 2013 |url-status = dead }}</ref> One source argued that "China certainly presents the most promising all-round profile" of a potential superpower, having high economic growth and a large population.<ref name="The United States and the Great Powers">{{cite book |last=Buzan |first=Barry |title=The United States and the Great Powers |publisher=Polity Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-7456-3375-7 |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |page=70}}</ref> According to ], ], 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=2021-03-03 |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>
Elizabeth Reavey, a research associate from the ], claims in the title of her 2008 article that ''While the US Looks Eastward Brazil Is Emerging as a Nuclear Superpower''.<ref name="brazzil.com"/> Describing the importance of the ongoing development of nuclear technology in the country, she calls Brazil an emerging superpower, with a "potential to have a China-like, booming economy, increased nuclear capabilities, a growing self-confidence in its own power and an ability to make its own way."


Great focus has been placed on China's growing economic activity on the global stage, in particular where it has been in competition with the United States. Examples of this have included the establishing and large-scale expansion in countries joining the ] in contrast to traditional western institutions, along with the ] and China's role in the ].<ref name="Foreign Policy-April-1-2015">{{cite magazine|author=Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany |title=Obama Is Sitting Alone at a Bar Drinking a Consolation Beer|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/01/obama-china-bank-aiib-policy/|magazine=]|date=April 1, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Boeing’s Crisis Strengthens Beijing’s Hand-March-20-2019">{{cite magazine|author=Aboulafia, Richard |title=Boeing's Crisis Strengthens Beijing's Hand|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/20/boeings-crisis-strengthens-beijings-hand-737max-faa-caac-aviation-regulators-trade-war-china-xi-trump/|magazine=]|date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> It has also been argued that the future is likely to be of growing competition between two highly dominant countries in the form of the United States and China while others begin to lag behind economically.<ref name="Columbia University Press-February-2018">{{Cite book|author=Tunsjø, Øystein |title=The Return of Bipolarity in World Politics: China, the United States, and Geostructural Realism|url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-return-of-bipolarity-in-world-politics/9780231176545|publisher=]|date=February 27, 2018|isbn=9780231546904}}</ref> Predictions have also been made of it overtaking the United States as the world's largest economy in the 2020s.<ref>{{cite web|author=Thair Shaikh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311061413/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-10/world/china.military.superpower_1_superpower-military-spending-military-dominance/2?_s=PM%3AWORLD |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-10/world/china.military.superpower_1_superpower-military-spending-military-dominance/2?_s=PM:WORLD |title=When Will China Become a Global Superpower? |publisher=CNN |date=10 June 2011 |archive-date=11 March 2012 |access-date=28 June 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Due to ], China has also been referred to as an "]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Kai-Fu |title=] |publisher=] |date=September 25, 2018 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Westerheide |first=Fabian |title=China – The First Artificial Intelligence Superpower |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2020/01/14/china-artificial-intelligence-superpower/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Milmo |first1=Dan |last2=editor |first2=Dan Milmo Global technology |date=2021-12-08 |title=TechScape: how China became an AI superpower ready to take on the United States |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/08/techscape-china-ai-united-states |access-date=2024-07-19 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Brazil is often called an economic superpower,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/press/Books/2009/brazilasaneconomicsuperpower.aspx |title=Brookings Institution Press: Brazil as an Economic Superpower? |publisher=Brookings.edu |date=2009-03-16 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11052873 | work=The Economist | title=An economic superpower, and now oil too | date=2008-04-17}}</ref> either present<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11052873 |title='&#39;Brazil, an economic superpower, and now oil too'&#39; |publisher=Economist.com |date=2008-04-17 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> or future, and many experts and journalists compare Brazil with the other potential superpowers of the ] group. Jonathan Power from ] claims in his 2006 article ''Brazil is Becoming an Economic and Political Superpower'' that "Brazil has a ] on India and China," saying that it has been positively developing for over 100 years, and adding that "between 1960 and 1980 Brazil doubled its per capita income."<ref name="transnational.org"/> Power also speculates that Brazil "has a good chance of emerging as the world’s first economic superpower without ]s." The lack of declared enemies and the fact it has not engaged in any large scale conflicts since the end of the ] also contributed for Brazil to so far not maintaining an aggressive military force like the other great powers.


In contrast to this however there have been some who question how long this pace of economic growth could continue, with emphasis placed on China's very large but ] of over 1.4 billion, and long-term effects of pollution within the country that have accumulated during its fast pace of industrialisation, and also that while it continues to grow it has yet to prove attractive to skilled immigration from outside the country in the same way other countries like the United States have.<ref name="articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com">{{cite news |last=Beardson |first=Timothy |date=June 28, 2013 |title=I don't see China becoming a superpower in this century|work=The Times Of India |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-28/news/40234296_1_challenges-facing-china-foreign-companies-china-20-years |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305034514/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-28/news/40234296_1_challenges-facing-china-foreign-companies-china-20-years |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Timothy Beardson|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-beardson/china-pollution_b_3331929.html|title=Action Needed on the Environment|work=Huffington Post|date=24 May 2013|access-date=26 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226075322/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/china-pollution_b_3331929 |archive-date=February 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Susan Shirk|date=2008|title=China: Fragile Superpower|url=https://archive.org/details/chinafragilesupe00shir|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-537319-6}}</ref><ref name="Chua, A 2007">{{cite book|author=Amy Chua|year=2007|title=Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-385-51284-8|url=https://archive.org/details/dayofempirehowhy00chua_0}}</ref> A supposed lack of ] is another aspect of contention to China's status as a potential superpower.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swain |first=Ashok |date=2021-01-21 |title=China's economy and military can overtake US, but it still won't become global superpower |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/chinas-can-overtake-us-but-it-still-wont-become-global-superpower/588718/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Today's China will never be a superpower |url=https://www.ft.com/content/233b101e-7d51-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560 |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.ft.com}}</ref>
===Contrary views===
{{See also|Social apartheid in Brazil}}
There are, however, numerous obstacles to Brazil reaching superpower status. According to ]-winning economist ], recognising Brazil's current economic strength is “not the same as it will become the economic superpower .”<ref>{{cite web|author=Posted: Wednesday, Dec 09, 2009 at 2205 hrs IST |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/brazil-is-not-an-economic-superpower-yet/551576/ |title=Brazil is not an economic superpower yet |publisher=Financialexpress.com |date=2009-12-09 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> Similarly, energy analyst Mark Burger writes that Brazil, in general, will improve its energy situation, but not to the point of being an ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glgroup.com/News/Brazil-Energy-Superpower---Not-so-fast...-1242.html |title=Brazil Energy Superpower? Not so fast... &#124; GPlus.com |publisher=Glgroup.com |date=2006-05-26 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>


There has been significant discussion around the ability for China to project power militarily. There has been argument that its ties with Russia and Central Asia could see the ] become the "] of the East".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/magazine/27world-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|newspaper=]|last=Khanna|first=Parag|title=Waving Goodbye to Hegemony|access-date=July 19, 2014}}</ref> It has also been argued that American absence from the Indo-Pacific region during the ] has allowed Chinese to actively challenge the United States as the pre-eminent power in the region.<ref>{{cite report|author=Ashley Townshend, Brendan Thomas-Noone, Matilda Steward|url=https://www.ussc.edu.au/analysis/averting-crisis-american-strategy-military-spending-and-collective-defence-in-the-indo-pacific|work=]|title=Averting Crisis: American strategy, military spending and collective defence in the Indo-Pacific|date= 19 August 2019}}</ref> Others have argued however that China still remains surrounded by potentially hostile nations and still lacks few friends or allies necessary for it to truly compete with the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Minxin Pei|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/03/20/the-loneliest-superpower/|title=The Loneliest Superpower|magazine=Foreign Policy|date=20 March 2012|access-date=28 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505071234/https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/03/20/the-loneliest-superpower/ |archive-date=May 5, 2021}}</ref>
The much higher rate of crime in the country compared to all the other potential superpowers, stubbornly high levels of income and education inequality, social polarization, and the future of the much less developed northern regions of the country remain concerns.<ref>http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1072.html</ref>


== European Union ==
In an interview, Vladimir Caramaschi, a Brazil Strategist said that "Investment is just not going to be enough to meet demand", he described that that Brazil, historically lags in investment regarding the factories, machinery and other types of fixed capitals, and it has not changed course even as it recovers faster than most of the countries from ]. He further adds that Brazil's cost of taxes, bureaucracy, interest rates and labor laws remains the highest among ] economies discourages investment.<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1TWjS.qG2GA</ref>
{{See also|Eurosphere|Paneuropean Union}}


The ] (EU) has been called an emerging superpower or having already achieved that status, primarily to do with its economic power and political influence on the world stage. Factors highlighted have included its large population, the size and global reach of its combined economy, and the comparative unpopularity of US foreign policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cer.org.uk/in-the-press/europe-new-superpower|title=Europe: the new superpower|publisher=CER|date=18 February 2005|access-date=28 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="The European Superpower">{{cite book|author=John McCormick|title=The European Superpower|isbn=978-1-4039-9846-0|date=14 November 2006|publisher=Macmillan Education UK }}</ref>
==China==
{{See also|Chinese Century}}
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| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|]
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Despite lacking a cohesive military of its own, with military capabilities still the matter of individual member states, it has been argued that this is irrelevant in the 21st century and accordingly so when considering the status of the EU as a potential superpower.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/europeinnewcentu00robe|url-access=registration|quote=Europe emerging superpower.|title=Europe in the New Century: Visions of an Emerging Superpower|publisher=]|year=2001|isbn=9781555878528|access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Trevor Williams|url=http://www.globalatlanta.com/danish-envoy-economic-strength-makes-eu-a-rising-superpower/|title=Danish Envoy: Economic Strength Makes EU a 'Rising Superpower'|work=Globalatlanta|date=29 October 2008|access-date=19 July 2014}}</ref> Others however have questioned this interpretation, instead arguing that its lack of a unified military structure compared to the United States undermines the case that the EU is a potential superpower.<ref>{{cite web|author=Robert Lane Greene|url=https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/173-sovereign/30500.html|title=EU Constitution: A 'Superpower Europe' It Won't Be|publisher=Globalpolicy.org|date=18 July 2003|access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref>Colin S. Gray, "Document No. 1: The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), 2006, and the Perils of the Twenty-First Century," ''Comparative Strategy'', 25/2, (2006): p 143.</ref>
The ''']''' receives continual coverage in the popular press of its potential superpower status,<ref>, CNN Specials, Accessed March 11, 2007</ref> and has been identified as a rising or emerging economic growth and military superpower by academics and other experts. In fact, the "rise of China" has been named the top news story of the 21st century by the ], as measured by number of appearances in the global print and electronic media, on the Internet and blogosphere, and in Social Media.<ref>{{cite web|author=2011年5月7日 星期六 |url=http://www.ycwb.com/ePaper/xkb/html/2011-05/07/content_1105830.htm |title=The Rise of China Ranked in the First Place of 21st Century News |publisher=Ycwb.com |date=2011-05-07 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Romana |first=Chito |url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/china-replace-us-top-superpower/story?id=9986355 |title=Does China Want to Be Top Superpower? |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=2010-03-02 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail&id=851&&prog=zch |title=www.carnegieendowment.org |publisher=www.carnegieendowment.org |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.getabstract.com/www/general/ShowAbstract.jsp?u=bridge2think&dataId=6584 |title=www.getabstract.com |publisher=www.getabstract.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc/uckertmb.pdf |title=China As An Economic and Military Superpower: A Dangerous Combination? |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>
The term "]" has also been applied by scholars to the possibility that the ] could ] as a "second superpower," with ] and influence on par with the ].<ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=g5s_uDDZSjoC&pg=PA155&dq=china+%22Second+Superpower%22&client=firefox-a</ref><ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=PIRkvshH5NYC&pg=PR9&dq=china+%22Second+Superpower%22&client=firefox-a</ref><ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=6ubh-K1gBooC&pg=PT563&dq=china+%22Second+Superpower%22&client=firefox-a</ref> The potential for the two countries to form stronger relations to address global issues is sometimes referred to as the ].


The EU's lack of political integration has also come under conflicting views regarding its effect on superpower status. Some have argued that its more "low profile" diplomacy and emphasis on the rule of law represent a new kind of geopolitical influence that fulfills the political requirements for consideration of being a superpower rather than simply failing to meet them.<ref name="The European Superpower" /><ref>{{cite web|author=Adrian Hyde-Price|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326212441/http://www.arena.uio.no/cidel/WorkshopOsloSecurity/Hyde-Price.pdf|archive-date=26 March 2009|date=23 October 2004|url=http://www.arena.uio.no/cidel/WorkshopOsloSecurity/Hyde-Price.pdf|title=The EU, Power and Coercion: From 'Civilian' to 'Civilising' Power|publisher=ARENA Centre for European Studies}}</ref> Others however argue that its lack of a centralised foreign or defence policy leaves its effectiveness uncertain when compared to that of a more politically integrated union of states such as the United States,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2005/02/10/europe-vs-america/|title=Europe vs. America by Tony Judt|magazine=The New York Review of Books|date=10 February 2005|access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="The United States and the Great Powers" /> and it has even been argued that the EU remains as little more than an extension of a Europe reliant or dominated by the United States.<ref>Zbigniew Brzezinski, ''Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power'', (New York: Basic Books, 2012), p 22, 126.</ref>
] asserted in 2004 that "China certainly presents the most promising all-round profile" of a potential superpower.<ref name="The United States and the Great Powers">{{cite book | last =Buzan | first =Barry | coauthors = | title=The United States and the Great Powers | publisher=Polity Press | year=2004 | location=Cambridge, United Kingdom | page =70 | isbn =0-7456-3375-7 | url=}}</ref> Buzan claimed that "China is currently the most fashionable potential superpower and the one whose degree of alienation from the dominant international society makes it the most obvious political challenger." However, he noted this challenge is constrained by the major challenges of development and by the fact that its rise could trigger a counter coalition of states in ].


The European Union has been called a "regulatory superpower" due to the ], which suggests that ] and ] will also be adopted by numerous countries outside the EU over time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=dmalloy |date=2023-06-15 |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=2023-05-24 |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=2020-03-01 |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>
] stated in 2008 that by making massive trade and investment deals with Latin America and Africa, China had established its presence as a superpower along with the ] and the ]. China's rise is demonstrated by its ballooning share of trade in its ]. He believed that China's "consultative style" had allowed it to develop political and economic ties with many countries including those viewed as rogue states by the United States. He stated that the ] founded with Russia and the Central Asian countries may eventually be the "NATO of the East".<ref></ref>


== India ==
Economist and author of ''Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance'' Arvind Subramanian argued in 2012 that China will direct the world's financial system by 2020 and that the Chinese ] will replace the ] as the world's ] in 10 to 15 years. The United States' ] will remain longer. He stated that "China was a top dog economically for thousands of years prior to the ]. In some ways, the past few hundred years have been an aberration."<ref>Ted Greenwald, "Taming the Dragon: One Scholar’s Plan to Soften Chinese Dominance", February 28, 2012, Wired Magazine http://www.wired.com/magazine/2012/02/st_subramanianqa/</ref>
{{Further|Indian Century}}


The ] has seen considerable coverage of its potential of becoming a superpower economically. Multiple opinions have pointed towards India's rapid economic development as a reason for it to be considered a potential superpower, in particular during the 2010s when it was predicted to outpace China's growth into the future.<ref>{{cite news |date=2011-01-09|title=India 2025: What kind of superpower? |first=Michael |last=Dingman |work=] |publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/india-2025-what-kind-of-superpower/articleshow/7238752.cms|access-date=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/mar/29minter.htm |title=India will be the biggest superpower |work=Rediff |year=2006 |access-date=19 July 2014}}</ref><ref name="IBM India Century">{{cite journal |last=Subramanian |first=Samanth |title=The Outlier:The inscrutable politics of Subramanian Swamy |url=http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reportage/outlier |journal=The Caravan: A Journal of Politics & Culture |date=1 May 2012 |access-date=29 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="rising">{{cite magazine |last=Zakaria |first=Fareed |date=March 5, 2006 |title=India Rising |url=http://www.newsweek.com/india-rising-106259 |magazine=Newsweek |access-date=August 2, 2014}}</ref> Economists and researchers at ] have projected India's 7% projected annual growth rate through 2024 would continue to put it ahead of China, making India the fastest growing economy in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Growth Projections Predict the Rise of India, East Africa and Fall of Oil Economies |url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/articles/new-growth-projections |website=Harvard Kennedy School |access-date=12 April 2016 |date=7 May 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508145617/https://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/articles/new-growth-projections |archivedate=2016-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=India Will Be Fastest-Growing Economy for Coming Decade, Harvard Researchers Predict |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Raymond |last=Zhong |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2016/01/01/india-will-be-fastest-growing-economy-for-coming-decade-harvard-researchers-predict/ |access-date=12 April 2016 |date=1 January 2016}}</ref> Over and above, India also has the advantage of having a very large and growing young population with a median age of 28, compared to China's median age of 39.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Silver |first1=Laura |last2=Huang |first2=Christine |last3=Clancy |first3=Laura |title=Key facts as India surpasses China as the world's most populous country |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/09/key-facts-as-india-surpasses-china-as-the-worlds-most-populous-country/ |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=Pew Research Center |date=9 February 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Lawrence Saez at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, argued in 2011 that the United States will be surpassed by China as military superpower within twenty years. Regarding economic power, the Director of the China Center for Economic Reform at Peking University Yao Yang stated that "Assuming that the Chinese and U.S. economies grow, respectively, by 8% and 3% in real terms, that China's inflation rate is 3.6% and America's is 2% (the averages of the last decade), and that the renminbi appreciates against the dollar by 3% per year (the average of the last six years), China will become the world's largest economy by 2021. By that time, both countries' GDP will be about $24 trillion."<ref>When will China become a global superpower?, June 10, 2011|By Thair Shaikh, CNN, http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-10/world/china.military.superpower_1_superpower-military-spending-military-dominance/2?_s=PM:WORLD</ref>


While India's economic growth has continued, others have noted that inequality remains high in the country and that its potential for trading appears more limited compared to regional rivals such as China, and that despite India briefly becoming the world's fastest-growing economy in 2015 its growth declined below China's since 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Khanna |first=Parag |authorlink=Parag Khanna |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/magazine/27world-t.html |title=Waving Goodbye to Hegemony |newspaper=] |date=2008-01-27 |access-date=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Khanna |first=Parag |authorlink=Parag Khanna |url=http://www.newamerica.net/node/8987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629133515/http://www.newamerica.net/node/8987 |archive-date=2011-06-29 |title=The Rise of Non-Americanism |publisher=New America Foundation |date=2008-05-18 |access-date=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref name="doi10.1257/jel.47.3.771">{{Cite journal |last=Pritchett |first=Lant |authorlink=Lant Pritchett |title=A Review of Edward Luce's 'In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India' |doi=10.1257/jel.47.3.771 |journal=Journal of Economic Literature |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=771–081 |year=2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=India to beat China again as fastest-growing economy in 2016: IMF |work=] |publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-09/news/64243978_1_growth-projection-world-economic-outlook-update-fastest-growing-economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717151633/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-09/news/64243978_1_growth-projection-world-economic-outlook-update-fastest-growing-economy |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2015 |access-date=20 November 2015 |date=9 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-05-31|title=India loses place as world's fastest-growing economy |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48478028 |access-date=2020-10-18}}</ref>
Historian ] argued in 2011, pointing to factors such as the ] predicting that China's GDP (] adjusted) will overtake that of the United States in 2016, that a power shift to a world with several superpowers was happening "Now". However, China was still lacking in soft power and power projection abilities and had a low ]. The article also stated that the ] in a 2009 survey found that people in 15 out of 22 countries believed that China had or would overtake the US as the world's leading superpower.<ref>Oxford Prof on China and the New World Order Pt 1, 02.27.12, Caixin Online, http://english.caixin.com/2012-02-27/100360946.html</ref>


It has also been argued that India's government and bureaucracy is also geared against emerging as a superpower, with it being argued that it "does very little collective thinking about its long-term foreign policy goals, since most of the strategic planning that takes place within the government happens on an individual level".<ref name="FA Miller 14">{{cite journal |last=Miller |first=Manjari Chatterjee |date=May–June 2013 |title=India's Feeble Foreign Policy |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/india/2013-04-03/indias-feeble-foreign-policy |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=14–18 |access-date=27 June 2013 |authorlink=Manjari Miller}}</ref>
In an interview given in 2011, Singapore's first premier, ], stated that while China supplanting the United States is not a forgone conclusion, Chinese leaders are nonetheless serious about displacing the United States as the most powerful country in Asia. “They have transformed a poor society by an economic miracle to become now the second-largest economy in the world. How could they not aspire to be number 1 in Asia, and in time the world?”<ref>{{cite book|last=Allison|first=Graham and Robert D. Blackwill, with Ali Wyne|title=Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World|year=2012|publisher=The MIT Press|location=Cambridge Massachusetts|isbn=9780262019125|page=2|url=http://books.google.com/books/about/Lee_Kuan_Yew.html?id=geiCymK1IWIC}}</ref> The Chinese strategy, Lee maintains, will revolve around their “huge and increasingly highly skilled and educated workers to out-sell and out-build all others.”<ref name="Allison 2012 4">{{cite book|last=Allison|first=Graham and Robert D. Blackwill, with Ali Wyne|title=Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World|year=2012|publisher=The MIT Press|location=Cambridge Massachusetts|isbn=9780262019125|page=4|url=http://books.google.com/books/about/Lee_Kuan_Yew.html?id=geiCymK1IWIC}}</ref> Nevertheless, relations with the United States, at least in the medium term, will not take a turn for the worst because China will “avoid any action that will sour up relations with the U.S. To challenge a stronger and technologically superior power like the U.S. will abort their ‘peaceful rise.'"<ref name="Allison 2012 4"/> Though Lee believes China is genuinely interested in growing within the global framework the United States has created, it is biding its time until it becomes strong enough to successfully redefine the prevailing political and economic order.<ref>{{cite book|last=Allison|first=Graham and Robert D. Blackwill, with Ali Wyne|title=Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World|year=2012|publisher=The MIT Press|location=Cambridge Massachusetts|isbn=9780262019125|page=12|url=http://books.google.com/books/about/Lee_Kuan_Yew.html?id=geiCymK1IWIC}}</ref>


== Russia ==
Chinese foreign policy advisor ] in 2012 stated that many Chinese officials see China as a first-class power which should be treated as such. China is argued to soon become the world's largest economy and to be making rapid progress in many areas. The United States is seen as a declining superpower as indicated by factors such as poor economic recovery, financial disorder, high deficits gaining close to GPD levels and unemployment, increasing political polarization and over regulation forcing jobs overseas in China .<ref>China Experts Warn of Growing Bilateral Distrust, April 03, 2012, Voice of America, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/east-pacific/US-China-Experts-Warn-of-Growing-Bilateral-Distrust-145900615.html</ref><ref>Addressing the US-China Strategic Distrust, 2012, Brookings, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2012/0330_china_lieberthal/0330_china_lieberthal.pdf</ref>
{{Further|Russia as an energy superpower|History of the Russian Federation}}


], since ], has been considered both a ] and a ]. Throughout most of the ]-era, the Soviet Union was one of the world's two ]s. However, after the ], the Russian Federation as its successor state lost its superpower status. In the early 21st century, Russia has been suggested as a potential candidate for resuming superpower status,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Minkina |first=Mirosław |date=2019-09-30 |title=Russia's return to the superpower status |url=https://securityanddefence.pl/Russia-s-return-to-the-superpower-status,110335,0,2.html |journal=Security and Defence Quarterly |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=34–50 |doi=10.35467/sdq/110335 |issn=2300-8741|hdl=11331/2402 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Graham-Harrison |first1=Emma |last2=Luhn |first2=Alec |last3=Walker |first3=Shaun |last4=Rice-Oxley |first4=Mark |last5=Sedghi |first5=Amy |date=2015-07-07 |title=China and Russia: the world's new superpower axis? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/07/china-russia-superpower-axis |access-date=2024-07-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Q&A: The return of the Russian superpower? |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/05/07/russia.analysis.chance/index.html |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref> while others have made the assertion that it is already a superpower.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Superpower Is Reborn|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/opinion/24steel.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> In his 2005 publication entitled ''Russia in the 21st Century: The Prodigal Superpower'', ], a professor of economics at ], predicted that Russia would emerge as a superpower before 2010 and augur another arms race. However, Rosefielde noted that such an end would come with tremendous sacrifice to global security and the Russian people's freedom.<ref>{{cite book|author=Steven Rosefielde|author-link=Steven Rosefielde|url=http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/economics/international-economics/russia-21st-century-prodigal-superpower|title=Russia in the 21st Century|publisher=] Press|date=February 2005|isbn=978-0-521-54529-7}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2023}} ] of '']'' compared Russia's actions with its own neighbouring territories, to those of "any other superpower", taking ] and ] as examples.<ref>{{cite news|author=Stephen Kinzer|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/05/11/russia-acts-like-any-other-superpower/AJRSNiIUYQPAHRlLXcfIlJ/story.html|title=Russia acts like any other superpower|newspaper=Boston Globe|date=11 May 2014|access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref>
===Contrary views===


Others however have put forward more pessimistic views towards Russia's ability to regain its superpower status. A mixed opinion has been offered by Matthew Fleischer of the ''],'' contending that severe climate change would be necessary for much of Russia's inherent natural resources to become viable.<ref>{{cite news|author=Matthew Fleischer|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-climate-change-russia-super-power-20140311-story.html|title=How curbing climate change can prevent Russia from becoming a superpower|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=12 March 2014|access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref>
Timothy Beardson, founder of Crosby International Holdings, stated in 2013, that he doesn't see "China becoming a superpower", he writes that China has basically worked as a manufacturing location for the foreign companies as 83% of all high-tech products that are made in China were produced for the foreign companies.<ref name="articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com">http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-28/news/40234296_1_challenges-facing-china-foreign-companies-china-20-years</ref> He adds that China's problems regarding wages, aging, declining population, and also gender imbalance, (that with the 6:5 ratio of gender, 1 in 6 boys will not have a wife) suggest that such problems will lead to crimes. He also suggested that China continually polluted its environment after 30 years of growth (considering that 20 most polluted cities in the world included 16 cities that are in China).<ref name="articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com"/><ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-beardson/china-pollution_b_3331929.html</ref>


Several analysts commented on the fact that Russia showed signs of an aging and shrinking population. ] said that this severely constricts and limits Russia's potential to re-emerge as a central world power.<ref>{{cite news|author=Fred Weir|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/russia/111102/russia-population-superpower-health-soviet-union|title=Despite huge cash bonuses to mothers, Russia's population is shrinking|work=GlobalPost|date=3 November 2011|access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref> In 2011, British historian and professor ] also highlighted the negative effects of Russia's declining population, and suggested that Russia is on its way to "global irrelevance".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Niall Ferguson|url=http://www.newsweek.com/decline-putins-russia-its-way-global-irrelevance-65847|title=In Decline, Putin's Russia Is On Its Way to Global Irrelevance|magazine=]|date=12 December 2011|access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref> Russia has, however, shown a slight population growth since the late 2000s, partly due to immigration, quickly rising birth rates, slowly declining death rates.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Mark Adomanis|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/markadomanis/2013/05/11/russias-population-isnt-shrinking-its-growing-very-very-slowly/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609004205/http://www.forbes.com/sites/markadomanis/2013/05/11/russias-population-isnt-shrinking-its-growing-very-very-slowly/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 9, 2013|title=Russia's Population Isn't Shrinking (It's Growing Very, Very Slowly)|magazine=Forbes|date=11 May 2013|access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>
] writes that too many people in China live without ], and that no mainland science researcher has yet won a Nobel Prize, so it is unlikely able to become an "economic Superpower".<ref>http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/15/china-superpower-status-leadership-citizenship-trends.html</ref> He also recalled his mid 1980s visit to China, where he found virtually everyone "poor", and that "rich" people were farmers that had their own family. He further suggests that people usually talk about how life in China is improving, yet if they go to China, they would see that Chinese officials spend too much time thinking about how to deal with the upcoming problems that their country faces.<ref>http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2008/04/more-on-poverty-and-superpower-status/7993/</ref>


Russia's ability to project hard power was also questioned following the ] in 2022, with the Russian military's poor performance prompting economist ] to suggest Russia was little more than a "] Superpower".<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>
Geoffrey Murphay's ''China: The Next Superpower'' (2008) argued that while the potential for China is high, this is fairly perceived only by looking at the risks and obstacles China faces in managing its population and resources. The political situation in China may become too fragile to survive into superpower status according to ] in ''China: Fragile Superpower'' (2008).<ref>Shirk, S (2008) China:Fragile Superpower, "Oxford University Press, USA ISBN 978-0-19-537319-6</ref> Other factors that could constrain China's ability to become a superpower in the future include limited supplies of energy and raw materials, questions over its innovation capability, inequality and corruption, and risks to social stability and the environment.


== Comparative statistics of current candidates ==
] argued in 2010 that China is not a superpower and it will not be one anytime soon and argued that China faces daunting political and economic challenges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apac2020.the-diplomat.com/feature/china%E2%80%99s-not-a-superpower/ |title=China’s Not a Superpower &#124; APAC 2020, the decade ahead - The Diplomat |publisher=Apac2020.the-diplomat.com |date=2010-01-20 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> In 2012 he argued that China, despite using economic power to influence some nations, has few real friends or allies and is surrounded by potentially hostile nations. This situation could improve if regional territorial disputes would be resolved and China would participate in an effective regional defense system that would reduce the fears of its neighbors. Alternatively, a democratization of China would dramatically improve foreign relations with many nations.<ref>MINXIN PEI, The Loneliest Superpower, MARCH 20, 2012, Foreign Policy, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/03/20/the_loneliest_superpower?page=0,0</ref>
<div style="overflow:auto">

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"
] stated in 2007 that whether a country has enough pull to bring immigrants is an important quality for a superpower. She also wrote that China lacks the pull to bring scientists, thinkers, and innovators from other countries as immigrants. However, she believed that China made up for this with its own ], and said that size and resources for them are unparalleled.<ref name="Chua, A 2007">Chua, A (2007) Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance -- and why They Fall, "Random House" ISBN 978-0-385-51284-8</ref>
!rowspan=2|Country/Union

!rowspan=2|Population<ref> ''] — ]'', Retrieved 10 May 2018</ref><ref> '']''</ref>
==European Union==
!rowspan=2|Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
{{See also|Eurosphere}}
!colspan=2|]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2021|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2021/April/weo-report?a=1&c=998,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,PPPPC,&sy=2019&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|access-date=23 July 2021|website=IMF|language=en}}</ref>
{| style="width:auto; toc:25em; font-size:85%; text-align:left;" class="infobox"
!colspan=2|]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
!rowspan=2|Military<br>expenditures<br/>(Int$ billion)<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2023|title=Trends in world military expenditure-2022|url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf|website=SIPRI}}</ref>
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ccf;"|''']'''
!rowspan=2|]<ref name="Technical notes 2020">{{cite web|title=Human Development Report 2019 – Technical notes|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2020_technical_notes.pdf|website=hdr.undp.org|publisher=United Nations Development Programme|access-date=15 December 2020|pages=2–4}}</ref>
!rowspan=2|]
|- |-
!(USD million)
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|]
!] ($)
!(Int$ million)
!] (Int$)
|- |-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|] | style="text-align: left" | {{flag|United States}}
| 346,238,081
|}
| 9,525,067
The ''']''' (EU) has been called an emerging superpower by academics.<ref name=autogenerated4 /><ref>Wilson Center , ''Wilson Center''</ref> Many scholars and academics like T.R. Reid,<ref>Reid, T.R. (2004) The United States of Europe 305p, ''Penguin Books'' ISBN 1-59420-033-5</ref> Andrew Reding,<ref name="A. R.">Reding, A (2002) , ''Chicago Tribune''{</ref> ],<ref>http://www.princeton.edu/~amoravcs/library/quiet.pdf</ref> ],<ref>Mark Leonard, (2006) Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century, ''Perseus Books Group'' ISBN 1-58648-424-9</ref> ],<ref>Rifkin, J. (2004) ''The European Dream'' ISBN 1-58542-345-9''The European Dream'' ISBN 1-58542-345-9</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|last=Clarke |first=Richard A. |url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/1403998469 |title=The European Superpower |publisher=Amazon.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> and some politicians like ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200502u/nj_rauch_2005-02-01 |title=The Atlantic |publisher=The Atlantic |date=2005-02-01 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> and ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/public-administration/national-security-international/977164-1.html |title=allbusiness |publisher=allbusiness |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref> either believe that the EU is, or will become, a superpower in the 21st century.
| 25,035,164
| 68,309
| 22,675,271
| 75,180
| 877
| 0.926 (very high)
| Yes
|----
| style="text-align: left" | {{flag|China}}
| 1,411,778,724
| 9,596,961
| 18,321,197
| 11,819
| 26,656,766
| 21,291
| 292
| 0.761 (high)
| Yes
|----
| style="text-align: left" | {{nowrap|{{flag|European Union}}}}
| 449,206,209
| 4,233,262
| 17,127,535
| 38,256
| 20,918,062
| 53,960
| 186<ref>{{Cite web|title=European defence spending hit new high in 2019|url=https://eda.europa.eu/news-and-events/news/2021/01/28/european-defence-spending-hit-new-high-in-2019|access-date=2021-05-16|website=eda.europa.eu|language=en}}</ref>
| 0.911 (very high)
| (])
|----
| style="text-align: left" | {{flag|India}}
| 1,456,604,163
| 3,287,263
| 3,468,566
| 3,057
| 10,207,290
| 10,475
| 81.4
| 0.645 (medium)
| No
|----
| style="text-align: left" | {{flag|Russia}}
| 144,458,123
| 17,125,191
| 2,133,092
| 11,654
| 4,328,122
| 31,967
| 86.4
| 0.824 (very high)
| Yes
|}</div>


== Former candidates ==
] cites several factors: the EU's large population, large economy (the EU has the largest economy in the world), low inflation rates, the unpopularity and perceived failure of US foreign policy in recent years, and certain EU member states' high quality of life (especially when measured in terms such as hours worked per week, health care, social services).<ref>Mark Leonard (2005) , ''Irish Times''</ref>


=== Japan ===
] believes that the EU has already achieved superpower status, based on the size and global reach of its economy and on its global political influence. He argues that the nature of power has changed since the ]-driven definition of superpower was developed, and that military power is no longer essential to great power; he argues that control of the means of production is more important than control of the means of destruction, and contrasts the threatening hard power of the United States with the opportunities offered by the ] wielded by the European Union.<ref name="The European Superpower">John McCormick </ref>
In the 1980s, some political and economic analysts predicted that ] would eventually accede to superpower status, due to its large population, growing ], ], ], ] and ] influence, large ], and ].<ref>{{Citation |last=Smith |first=Dennis B. |title=The Emergence of the Economic Superpower: 1980 to the Present |date=1995 |work=Japan since 1945: The Rise of an Economic Superpower |pages=138–169 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Dennis B. |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24126-2_6 |access-date=2024-07-10 |place=London |publisher=Macmillan Education UK |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-24126-2_6 |isbn=978-1-349-24126-2}}</ref><ref name="Japan From Superrich To Superpower" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kreisberg |first=Paul |date=1988-12-11 |title=Japan: A Superpower Minus Military Power |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-11-op-67-story.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Japan's economy was expected to eventually surpass ].<ref name="Zakaria, F 2008">{{cite book |last=Zakaria |first=Fareed |author-link=Fareed Zakaria |url=https://archive.org/details/postamericanworl00zaka_199 |title=The Post-American World |date=2008 |publisher=W. W. Norton and Company |isbn=978-0-393-06235-9 |page= |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="Land of the setting sun">{{Cite news |date=November 12, 2009 |title=Land of the setting sun |url=https://www.economist.com/business/2009/11/12/land-of-the-setting-sun |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref><ref name="Japan From Superrich To Superpower">{{cite magazine |date=July 4, 1988 |title=Japan From Superrich To Superpower |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967823,00.html |magazine=]}}</ref> However, this prediction failed to materialise following ] and the resulting "]", where Japan has suffered a flat to negative economic outlook,<ref name="Leika Kihara">{{cite news |author=Leika Kihara |date=17 August 2012 |title=Japan eyes end to decades long deflation |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-estimate-idUSL4E8JH1TC20120817#ySOkSfW3bZs8lVWK.97 |access-date=7 September 2012 |work=Reuters}}</ref> while ] before suffering real decline in total population starting in 2011.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-01-20 |title=Japan was the future but it's stuck in the past |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63830490 |access-date=2024-07-10 |language=en-GB}}</ref>


=== Germany ===
] believes that the EU, together with China, has already achieved superpower status and rivals the US for influence around the world.<ref name=autogenerated2>Khanna P., ''New York Times Magazine'' {{Dead link|date=June 2012}}</ref><ref>Khanna P. </ref> He also mentions the large economy of the EU, that European technologies more and more set the global standards and that European countries give the most development assistance. He agrees with McCormick that the EU does not need a common army to be a superpower. The EU uses intelligence and the police to apprehend radical ], social policy to try to integrate restive ] populations and economic strength to incorporate the former ] and gradually subdue ].<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Khanna also writes that ], ], and other regions prefer to emulate the "]" than the ].<ref>Khanna P. </ref> This could possibly be seen in the ] and ]. Notably, the EU as a whole is among the most culturally diverse "entities" on the planet,<ref>http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a770439041&fulltext=713240928</ref> with some of the world's largest and most influential languages being official within its borders.<ref>{{dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref>
In the 1940s, the Nazis occupied much of Europe together with their Axis allies such as Italy, and threatened Britain. They even destroyed France, which was a great power at the time, and gave France a period of humiliation called Vichy France, and as expansionism accelerated both in military power and territory to the point of swallowing up almost all of Europe, the United States briefly felt threatened militarily for 10 years. At that time, it expanded as imperialism and war crimes, reaching 60%–70% of the military influence of the United States, and in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and after initial success, it advanced almost as far as Moscow and implemented the Generalplan Ost and the hunger plan for racial cleansing in Eastern Europe.
However, due to the Soviet Union's counterattack and the United States' entry into the war, Germany lost the initiative in the war from 1943 and retreated to Germany proper by the end of 1944. Large-scale bombing of Germany proper expanded, and the Axis powers suffered repeated defeats in Eastern and Southern Europe. Eastern Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union, and western Germany by the Western Allies. Hitler, who had not decided to surrender, died on April 30, and Germany finally signed the surrender document on May 8, 1945. The "thousand-year Reich" had lasted a mere 12 years.


=== French Empire ===
Andrew Reding also takes the ] into account. An eventual future accession of the rest of ], the whole of Russia, and ], would not only boost the ], but it would also increase the EU's population to about 800 million, which he considers almost equal to that of ] or ]. The EU is qualitatively different from India and China since it is enormously more prosperous and technologically advanced.<ref name="A. R." /> Turkish PM ] said in 2005: "In 10 or 15 years, the EU will be a place where civilizations meet. It will be a superpower with the inclusion of Turkey."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/11977/-eu-will-be-super-power-with-turkey-.html |title=Journal of Turkish Weekly |publisher=Turkishweekly.net |date=2005-06-04 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>
Although it is called the French Empire, it is also commonly called the 'Napoleonic Empire' because it was an empire created by one person, Napoleon. As soon as Napoleon I ascended to the throne, he pursued a modernization policy for the city in order to make Paris, the capital of France, the best capital in the world. He established a new calculation system for furniture (even and odd numbers), installed fountains, organized cemeteries, and reorganized squares, halls, markets, riverside areas, embankments, public facilities, and monumental buildings. In addition, statues of high-ranking people and great men were erected throughout the streets.The bridge was built. It began in 1804, when Napoleon crowned himself emperor at Notre Dame Cathedral, and disappeared into history in 1814, when Napoleon fell and was exiled to Elba. There was a brief Hundred Days in 1815, but it was completely destroyed by the Battle of Waterloo.


=== Kingdom of the Netherlands ===
Robert J. Guttman wrote in 2001 that the very definition of the term superpower has changed and in the 21st century, it does not only refer to states with military power, but also to groups such as the European Union, with strong market economics, young, highly educated workers savvy in high technology, and a global vision.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.se/books?id=sbi7eVIcyD4C&dq=Europe+emerging+superpower&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=QxLIyJCn7Q&sig=MVdQdAbG6-3ee0A5-UjCEbNNpEE&hl=sv&ei=wBgUSuf7CJmv-AbooqioDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#PPP1,M1 |title=Europe in the New Century: Visions of an Emerging Superpower |publisher=Books.google.se |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> ], the Danish ambassador to the US, has expressed similar views. He conceded that the EU is a “special kind of superpower,” one that has yet to establish a unified military force that exerts itself even close to the same level as many of its individual members.<ref>http://stories.globalatlanta.com/2008stories/016337.html</ref>
It was one of the European maritime powers that traversed the Atlantic Ocean, and imitating the empire, since small European trading companies lacked the capital or manpower for large-scale operations, the Dutch Parliament chartered the Dutch West India Company and the Dutch East India Company in the early 17th century. These companies were known as the largest and most extensive maritime trading companies of their time, and at one time monopolized European trade routes to South America, eastern Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, and the entire Southern Hemisphere via the Strait of Magellan.It led to the Industrial Revolution and the cultural flourishing of the Netherlands, known as the Dutch Golden Age. The Dutch Empire lost its colonies and trade monopoly due to the Anglo-Dutch Wars that took place from the late 17th century to the early 19th century.


=== Spain===
Additionally, it is argued by commentators that full political integration is not required for the European Union to wield international influence: that its apparent weaknesses constitute its real strengths (as of its low profile diplomacy and the emphasis on the rule of law)<ref name="The European Superpower"/> and that the EU represents a new and potentially more successful type of international actor than traditional ones;<ref>Hyde-Price A (2004) ''Arena''</ref> however, it is uncertain if the effectiveness of such an influence would be equal to that of a more politically integrated union of states such as the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17726 |title=Europe vs. America by Tony Judt &#124; The New York Review of Books |publisher=Nybooks.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>
It is a historical empire that once achieved global hegemony. From the 15th to the 19th century, it ruled vast territories in the Americas, the Philippine Islands, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the most powerful empires of its time. At its peak in the 18th century, it enjoyed such glory that it was called the "empire on which the sun never sets". Spain lost the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and had to recognize the independence of the Netherlands, and in 1659, it was defeated in a war with France and was forced to cede the Rosellon region in southwestern Flanders. During the reign of Charles II, part of its territory was ceded to France in 1678, and after the War of the Spanish Succession broke out in 1713 and the royal family changed to the Bourbon Spanish Dynasty, it gradually shrank, ceding parts of Flanders and the Kingdom of Naples to Austria.


== See also ==
Barry Buzan notes that the EU's potential superpower status depends on its "stateness". It is unclear though how much state-like quality is needed for the EU to be described as a superpower. Buzan states that the EU is likely to remain a potential superpower for a long time because although it has material wealth, its "political weakness and its erratic and difficult course of internal political development, particularly as regards a common foreign and defence policy" constrains it from being a superpower.<ref name="The United States and the Great Powers" />
{{colbegin}}

* ]
], the ] ], has said that he thinks the EU is both a superpower and not a superpower. While the EU is a superpower in the sense that it is the largest ], ] and aid donor in the world, it is not a superpower in the defense or foreign policy spheres. Like Barry Buzan, Alexander Stubb thinks that the most major factor constraining the EU’s rise to superpower status is its lack of statehood in the international system, other factors are its lack of internal drive to project power worldwide, and continued preference for the sovereign nation-state amongst some ]ans. To counterbalance these, he urged the EU leaders to approve and ratify the ] (which they did in 2009), create an EU foreign ministry (], established in 2010), develop a ], hold one collective seat at the ] and ], and address what he described as the “sour mood” toward the EU prevalent in some European countries today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/0717carnegie-stubb.pdf |title=Carnegie Endowment |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>
* ]

===Contrary views===
Some do not believe that the EU will achieve superpower status. "The EU is not and never will be a superpower" according to the former UK ] ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gees.org/documentos/Documen-02639.pdf |title=(FCO) Europe 2030: Model power not Superpower - Bruges Speech by the Rt Hon David Miliband MP Foreign Secretary |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> Lacking a unified foreign policy and with an inability to project military power worldwide, the EU lacks "the substance of superpowers," who by definition have "first of all military reach possess the capacity to arrive quickly anywhere with troops that can impose their government's will.".<ref>{{cite web|last=Asa |first=Amotz |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1226404727902 |title=Middle Israel: Barack Obama and the decline of America &#124; Columnists &#124; Jerusalem Post |publisher=Fr.jpost.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> EU parliamentarian Ilka Schroeder argues that conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute see close EU involvement largely to compensate for European inability to project military power internationally.<ref>{{cite web|author=Julie Stahl, Jerusalem Bureau Chief |url=http://www.crosswalk.com/1238927/ |title=Europe Wants to Rival US as Military Superpower, Says EU Parliamentarian - Julie Stahl |publisher=Crosswalk.com |date=2004-01-02 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>

'']'''s ] notes that the lack of a strong European military only exacerbates the lack of unified EU foreign policy and discounts any EU arguments towards superpower status, noting especially that the EU's creation of a global response force rivaling the superpower's (United States of America) is "unthinkable."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/173-sovereign/30500.html |title=EU Constitution: A 'Superpower Europe' It Won't Be |publisher=Globalpolicy.org |date=2003-07-18 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> The biggest barrier to European superpowerdom is that European elites refuse to bring their postmodern fantasies about the illegitimacy of military "hard power" into line with the way the rest of the world interprets reality" according to Soren Kern of Strategic Studies Group.<ref>http://www.isn.ch/isn/Communities-and-Partners/Partners/Detail/?lng=en&id=51949</ref>

Britain's ] has warned against the "worry" that many Europeans are pushing for greater EU integration to counterbalance the United States,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4020973.stm | work=BBC News | title=Howard warning on EU 'superpower' | date=2004-11-17 | accessdate=2010-05-22}}</ref> while Europe's total reliance on soft (non-military) power is in part because of its lack of a "shared identity."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uscpublicdiplomacy.com/index.php/newsroom/specialreports_detail/the_european_union_a_quiet_superpower_or_a_relic_of_the_past/ |title=The European Union, A "Quiet Superpower" Or A Relic Of The Past<!- -> &#124; USC Center on Public Diplomacy &#124; Media Monitor Reports |publisher=Uscpublicdiplomacy.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> While to some the European Union should be a "model power" unafraid of using military force and backing free trade, its military shortcomings argue against superpower status.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-494313/Britain-sees-EU-model-power-superpower.html | location=London | work=Daily Mail | title=Britain sees EU as 'model power' not 'superpower' | date=2007-11-15}}</ref>

==India==
{{See also|Indian century}}
{| style="width:auto; toc:25em; font-size:85%; text-align:left;" class="infobox"
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ccf;"|''']'''
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|]
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|]
|}
Several media publications and academics have discussed the ''']''''s potential of becoming a superpower.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|author=Fareed Zakaria |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/47261 |title=India Rising &#124; Newsweek International |publisher=Newsweek.com |date=2006-03-05 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref><ref>http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/hyderabad/vision-2030-superpower-india-814 Vision 2030: Superpower India</ref><ref name="iht.com">, IHT, Accessed March 11, 2007</ref> '']'' and the '']'' join several academics in discussing ]'s potential of becoming a superpower.<ref name="iht.com"/><ref>, ''Newsweek'', Accessed November 15, 2008</ref>

US Intelligence report, from 2012, says that India will become superpower by 2030; it writes that "India's rate of economic growth is likely to rise while China's slows". According to the report, World Bank suggests that China and India will be "emerging economy growth pole" by 2025. The report further adds that the total size of the Chinese working-age population will peak in 2016 but decline in later years, while with India it won't be the same factor.<ref>http://www.indiaeveryday.in/fullnews-india-to-become-economic-superpower-by-2030-us-1003-4809942.htm</ref>

] is almost certain that India will become a superpower in the 21st century. As an example, he states that due to India's functional institutions of democracy and its relatively ]-free society, it will emerge as a desirable, entrepreneurial and resource and energy-efficient superpower in the near future. He predicts that by 2015 India will overtake China to be the fastest growing economy in the world and emerge as a full-fledged economic superpower by 2025. In addition to that, he states, India has the potential to serve as a leading example of how to combine rapid economic growth with fairness towards and inclusion of those at the bottom rungs of the ladder and of efficient resource utilization, especially in energy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/india-2025-what-kind-of-superpower/articleshow/7239803.cms |title=India 2025: What kind of superpower? |publisher=Economictimes.indiatimes.com |date=2011-01-09 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>

Robyn Meredith claims that both India and China will be superpowers.<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> Although, she points out that the average income of European and Americans are better off than Chinese and Indians, and hundreds of millions of Chinese as well as Indians live in poverty, however she also suggested that economic growth of these nations has been most important factor in reducing global poverty of last two decades as per World Bank report.<ref>Meredith, R (2008) ''The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us'', p.6, "W.W Norton and Company" ISBN 978-0-393-33193-6</ref> ] also adds to this, stating that while India's potential for superpower is great, it still faces many problems such as "pervasive rural poverty, entrenched ], and high ] just to name a few". However, she notes that India has made tremendous strides to fix this, stating that some of India's achievements, such as working to dismantle the centuries-old ] and maintaining the world's largest diverse democracy is historically unprecedented.<ref name="Chua, A 2007"/>

] also believes that India has a fine chance at becoming a superpower, pointing out that India's young population coupled with the ] ]-speaking population in the world could give India an advantage over China. He also believes that while other industrial countries will face a youth gap, India will have lots of young people, or in other words, workers, and by 2050, its per capita income will rise by twenty times its current level. According to Zakaria, another strength that India has is that its democratic government has lasted for 60 years, stating that a democracy can provide for long-term stability, that has given India a name.<ref>Zakaria, F (2008) ''The Post-American World'', “W. W. Norton and Company” ISBN 978-0-393-06235-9</ref>

Founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute and former counselor to the Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan Administration ] has predicted that "It is going to be India's century. India is going to be the biggest economy in the world. It is going to be the biggest superpower of the 21st century."<ref>, Rediff India, Published March 29, 2006</ref>

===Contrary views===
] wrote in 2008 that he believes that India is not, nor will it become a superpower for the foreseeable future, lagging decades behind China in both development and strategic appetite.<ref>{{cite web|last=Khanna |first=Parag |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/magazine/27world-t.html |title=Waving Goodbye to Hegemony |location=Qatar;China;Iran;Pakistan;Russia;India;Europe;China;Turkey;Libya;Indonesia;Abu Dhabi;Uzbekistan;Afghanistan;Kyrgyzstan;Kazakhstan |publisher=Nytimes.com |date=2008-01-27 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> Instead, he believes India will be a key swing state along with Russia.<ref>Khanna, P (2008) ''The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order'', “Random House” ISBN 978140065080 {{Please check ISBN|reason=Invalid length.}}</ref> He says that India is "big but not important", has a highly successful professional class, while ] of its citizens still live in ]. He also writes that it matters that China borders a dozen more countries than India and is not hemmed in by a vast ocean and the world's tallest mountains.<ref>{{cite web|last=Khanna |first=Parag |url=http://www.newamerica.net/node/8987 |title=The Rise of Non-Americanism |publisher=Newamerica.net |date=2008-05-18 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> However, in a recent article written by ], he says that India, along with China, will grow ever stronger, while other powers, like ], muddle along.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paragkhanna.com/?p=956 |title=Parag Khanna |publisher=Parag Khanna |date=2010-12-28 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref>

], reviewing the book ''In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India'', writes that, while India has had impressive growth and has some world-class institutions, several other indicators are puzzlingly poor. The ] and the coverage of ] programs are at levels similar or worse than in much sub-Saharan African nations. In the ], India's child ] was the worst of the 42 nations with comparable and recent data.<ref name="doi10.1257/jel.47.3.771">{{cite doi|10.1257/jel.47.3.771}}</ref> Adult ] is 61%. In one study, 26% of teachers were absent from work and 1/3 of those showing up did not teach. 40% of health care workers were absent from work. ] remains an important force. Pritchett argues that a very large population, a very long statistical "tail" of high quality students, and some very good higher education institutions gives a misleading impression of Indian education. Indian students placed forty-first and thirty-seventh in a study comparing students in the two Indian states ] and ] to the forty-six nations in the 2003 ].<ref name="doi10.1257/jel.47.3.771"/>

Manjari Chatterjee Miller, assistant professor of international relations at ], argues that India is a "would-be" great power but "resists its own rise".<ref name="FA Miller 14">{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Manjari Chatterjee|title=India's Feeble Foreign Policy|journal=Foreign Affairs|year=2013|month=May/June|volume= 92|issue= 3|page=p.14|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139098/manjari-chatterjee-miller/indias-feeble-foreign-policy|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref> Three factors contribute to this stagnation, she argues. First, ]'s foreign policy decisions are highly individualistic.<ref name="FA Miller 14"/> "This autonomy, in turn, means that New Delhi does very little collective thinking about its long-term foreign policy goals, since most of the strategic planning that takes place within the government happens on an individual level."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Manjari Chatterjee|title=India's Feeble Foreign Policy|journal=Foreign Affairs|year=2013|month=May/June|volume= 92|issue= 3|page=p.15|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139098/manjari-chatterjee-miller/indias-feeble-foreign-policy|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref> Second, a dearth of think tanks helps insulate Indian foreign policymakers from outside influences.<ref name="FA Miller 14"/> "U.S. foreign policymakers, by contrast, can expect strategic guidance from a broad spectrum of organizations that supplement the long-term planning that happens within the government itself."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Manjari Chatterjee|title=India's Feeble Foreign Policy|journal=Foreign Affairs|year=2013|month=May/June|volume= 92|issue= 3|page=p.17|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139098/manjari-chatterjee-miller/indias-feeble-foreign-policy|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref> Third, many of India's political elites believe that the country's inevitable rise is a ] construct that has placed unrealistic expectations on India's economic growth forecasts and its international commitments.<ref name="FA Miller 14"/> By contrast, Miller notes that Chinese political leaders pay very close attention to the international hype surrounding their country's growing stature.<ref name="FA Miller 14"/> Miller concludes that "India's inability to develop top-down, long-term strategies means that it cannot systematically consider the implications of its growing power. So long as this remains the case, the country will not play the role in global affairs that many expect."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Manjari Chatterjee|title=India's Feeble Foreign Policy|journal=Foreign Affairs|year=2013|month=May/June|volume= 92|issue= 3|page=p.18|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139098/manjari-chatterjee-miller/indias-feeble-foreign-policy|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref>

==Russia==
{| style="width:auto; toc:25em; font-size:85%; text-align:left;" class="infobox"
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! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ccf;"|''']'''
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|]
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| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|]
|}
The ''']''' has been suggested by many heads of states,<ref> by Megan K. Stack. Sept 9, 2009</ref><ref> Russia Today News 15 Feb 2010</ref> politicians<ref> Daniel Fried, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs by Kommersant News May 26, 2007</ref><ref>"Russia is a Superpower CNN, US Senators Telling the Truth" – CNN by Wolf Blitzer – Aug 2008 </ref> and news analysts<ref> by Steven Rosefielde, Cambridge University Press, 2004</ref> have even suggested that ] may have already reclaimed that status.<ref>New York Times by Ronald Steel professor of international relations August 24, 2008 - Superpower Reborn </ref><ref>The Globalist – June 2, 2010 cite: “An Insecure Foothold for the United States; Russia is certainly still a superpower comparable only to the United States”</ref><ref>"Russia the Best of the BRICs" – AG Metal Miner News by Stuart Burns – Sept 19, 2010 </ref><ref>"The Dangers of Nuclear Disarmament" – Project-Syndicate News by Sergei Karaganov – April 29, 2010 </ref> resuming superpower status in the 21st century.<ref name="Russia in the 21st Century"/><ref name="georgiandaily.com"/><ref>"A Militarily Resurging Russia" – Counter Currents by Farooque Chowdhury – Dec 23, 2013 </ref>

According to economist Steven Rosefielde of the ], Russia intends to "reemerge as a full-fledged superpower by 2010," and "contrary to conventional wisdom, this goal is easily within the Kremlin's grasp, but the cost to the Russian people and global security would be immense."<ref name="Rosefielde">{{cite book |title=Russia in the 21st Century: The Prodigal Superpower |last=Rosefielde |first=Steven |year=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-521-54529-7 |oclc= |page= |pages=1–9 |url= |accessdate=}}</ref> Rosefielde further argues that Russia "has an intact military-industrial complex...and the mineral wealth to reactivate its dormant structurally militarized potential," and that "supply-side constraints don't preclude a return to prodigal superpowerdom".<ref name="Rosefielde"/><ref>Cambridge.org University of North Carolina Dec. 2004 by Steven Rosefielde “Russia in the 21st Century The Prodigal Superpower”</ref>

Military analyst Alexander Golts of '']'' argues that ] ]'s confrontations with the U.S. on nuclear issues are in pursuit of regaining superpower status for Russia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23554 |title=St. Petersburg Times: "Dreaming of New Conflicts" |publisher=Times.spb.ru |date=2007-11-06 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}</ref> It has been argued that ] toward bordering countries is designed with the ultimate goal of regaining superpower status.<ref name="Rywkin2008">{{cite journal |last=Rywkin |first=Michael |year=2008 |month=January |title=Russia: In Quest of Superpower Status |journal=American Foreign Policy Interests |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=13–21 |doi=10.1080/10803920701854272 |url=http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a790546758 |accessdate=2009-09-17 |quote= }}</ref> Mike Ritchie of industry analysts Energy Intelligence says "Russia was always a superpower that used its energy to win friends and influence among its former Soviet satellites. Nothing has really changed much. They are back in the same game, winning friends and influencing people and using their power to do so."<ref></ref>

] in an interview with CNN, he states that Russia may return as superpower, adding that in Russia people enjoy a lot more freedom and prosperity than they did 15 years ago. Although he also suggested that unemployment has been increased and industrial output plunge has become an issue for Russians regarding there future, but at this moment it's not a huge matter.<ref>/</ref>

===Contrary views===
Peter Brown writes that Russia won't be superpower anytime soon, as the population of Russia has been shrinking, and more people are dying than they are taking birth due to the poverty, poor public health.<ref>http://blogs.wsj.com/capitaljournal/2009/08/26/do-the-math-why-russia-won%E2%80%99t-be-a-superpower-anytime-soon/</ref> ] has also pointed the declining population, and suggests that Russia is on its way to "global irrelevance".<ref></ref> Although recent data regarding the population of Russia has shown some modest population growth due to immigration.<ref>Russia's Population Isn't Shrinking by Forbes May 11, 2013 by Mark Adomanis </ref><ref></ref>

Vladimir Radyuhin, writing in '']'', states that the political and economic systems of Russia are driving away the highly qualified and entrepreneurs with the population only stabilized by the immigration of unskilled laborers from other former Soviet States.<ref></ref> Russia's population has also been shrinking since the collapse of the Soviet Union{{update after|2013|12|25}}, whilst the country also shows signs of having an aging population, points that ] believe constricts Russia's potential to re-emerge as a central world power.<ref></ref>

==See also==
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
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{{colend}}


==References== == References ==
{{Reflist|30em}} {{reflist|30em}}
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==External links== == External links ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Potential Superpowers}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Potential Superpowers}}

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Latest revision as of 18:14, 26 December 2024

Entity speculated to be or become a superpower

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

A potential superpower is a sovereign state or other polity that is speculated to be or have the potential to become a superpower; 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 through economic, military, technological, political, and/or cultural means.

After the United States, which, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, is currently considered to be the world's foremost and sole widely undisputed—and by some accounts only—superpower, only China, the European Union, India, and Russia have consistently been academically discussed as potential superpowers of the 21st century, with Japan having been a former candidate in the 1980s.

China

Further information: Chinese Century and China's peaceful rise

The People's Republic of China has arguably received the most consistent coverage in the popular press of its potential superpower status, and has been identified as a rising or emerging economic and military superpower by academics and other experts. One source argued that "China certainly presents the most promising all-round profile" of a potential superpower, having high economic growth and a large population. According to U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, 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".

Great focus has been placed on China's growing economic activity on the global stage, in particular where it has been in competition with the United States. Examples of this have included the establishing and large-scale expansion in countries joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in contrast to traditional western institutions, along with the Belt and Road Initiative and China's role in the worldwide groundings of the Boeing 737 MAX. It has also been argued that the future is likely to be of growing competition between two highly dominant countries in the form of the United States and China while others begin to lag behind economically. Predictions have also been made of it overtaking the United States as the world's largest economy in the 2020s. Due to the country's rapidly developing AI industry, China has also been referred to as an "AI superpower".

In contrast to this however there have been some who question how long this pace of economic growth could continue, with emphasis placed on China's very large but ageing and shrinking population of over 1.4 billion, and long-term effects of pollution within the country that have accumulated during its fast pace of industrialisation, and also that while it continues to grow it has yet to prove attractive to skilled immigration from outside the country in the same way other countries like the United States have. A supposed lack of soft power is another aspect of contention to China's status as a potential superpower.

There has been significant discussion around the ability for China to project power militarily. There has been argument that its ties with Russia and Central Asia could see the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation become the "NATO of the East". It has also been argued that American absence from the Indo-Pacific region during the war on terror has allowed Chinese to actively challenge the United States as the pre-eminent power in the region. Others have argued however that China still remains surrounded by potentially hostile nations and still lacks few friends or allies necessary for it to truly compete with the United States.

European Union

See also: Eurosphere and Paneuropean Union

The European Union (EU) has been called an emerging superpower or having already achieved that status, primarily to do with its economic power and political influence on the world stage. Factors highlighted have included its large population, the size and global reach of its combined economy, and the comparative unpopularity of US foreign policy.

Despite lacking a cohesive military of its own, with military capabilities still the matter of individual member states, it has been argued that this is irrelevant in the 21st century and accordingly so when considering the status of the EU as a potential superpower. Others however have questioned this interpretation, instead arguing that its lack of a unified military structure compared to the United States undermines the case that the EU is a potential superpower.

The EU's lack of political integration has also come under conflicting views regarding its effect on superpower status. Some have argued that its more "low profile" diplomacy and emphasis on the rule of law represent a new kind of geopolitical influence that fulfills the political requirements for consideration of being a superpower rather than simply failing to meet them. Others however argue that its lack of a centralised foreign or defence policy leaves its effectiveness uncertain when compared to that of a more politically integrated union of states such as the United States, and it has even been argued that the EU remains as little more than an extension of a Europe reliant or dominated by the United States.

The European Union has been called a "regulatory superpower" due to the Brussels effect, which suggests that regulations and standards applicable in the EU will also be adopted by numerous countries outside the EU over time.

India

Further information: Indian Century

The Republic of India has seen considerable coverage of its potential of becoming a superpower economically. Multiple opinions have pointed towards India's rapid economic development as a reason for it to be considered a potential superpower, in particular during the 2010s when it was predicted to outpace China's growth into the future. Economists and researchers at Harvard University have projected India's 7% projected annual growth rate through 2024 would continue to put it ahead of China, making India the fastest growing economy in the world. Over and above, India also has the advantage of having a very large and growing young population with a median age of 28, compared to China's median age of 39.

While India's economic growth has continued, others have noted that inequality remains high in the country and that its potential for trading appears more limited compared to regional rivals such as China, and that despite India briefly becoming the world's fastest-growing economy in 2015 its growth declined below China's since 2018.

It has also been argued that India's government and bureaucracy is also geared against emerging as a superpower, with it being argued that it "does very little collective thinking about its long-term foreign policy goals, since most of the strategic planning that takes place within the government happens on an individual level".

Russia

Further information: Russia as an energy superpower and History of the Russian Federation

Russia, since its imperial times, has been considered both a great power and a regional power. Throughout most of the Soviet-era, the Soviet Union was one of the world's two superpowers. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation as its successor state lost its superpower status. In the early 21st century, Russia has been suggested as a potential candidate for resuming superpower status, while others have made the assertion that it is already a superpower. In his 2005 publication entitled Russia in the 21st Century: The Prodigal Superpower, Steven Rosefielde, a professor of economics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, predicted that Russia would emerge as a superpower before 2010 and augur another arms race. However, Rosefielde noted that such an end would come with tremendous sacrifice to global security and the Russian people's freedom. Stephen Kinzer of The Boston Globe compared Russia's actions with its own neighbouring territories, to those of "any other superpower", taking Ukraine and Crimea as examples.

Others however have put forward more pessimistic views towards Russia's ability to regain its superpower status. A mixed opinion has been offered by Matthew Fleischer of the Los Angeles Times, contending that severe climate change would be necessary for much of Russia's inherent natural resources to become viable.

Several analysts commented on the fact that Russia showed signs of an aging and shrinking population. Fred Weir said that this severely constricts and limits Russia's potential to re-emerge as a central world power. In 2011, British historian and professor Niall Ferguson also highlighted the negative effects of Russia's declining population, and suggested that Russia is on its way to "global irrelevance". Russia has, however, shown a slight population growth since the late 2000s, partly due to immigration, quickly rising birth rates, slowly declining death rates.

Russia's ability to project hard power was also questioned following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the Russian military's poor performance prompting economist Paul Krugman to suggest Russia was little more than a "Potemkin Superpower".

Comparative statistics of current candidates

Country/Union Population Area
(km)
GDP (nominal) GDP (PPP) Military
expenditures
(Int$ billion)
HDI UN Security Council veto power
(USD million) Per capita ($) (Int$ million) Per capita (Int$)
 United States 346,238,081 9,525,067 25,035,164 68,309 22,675,271 75,180 877 0.926 (very high) Yes
 China 1,411,778,724 9,596,961 18,321,197 11,819 26,656,766 21,291 292 0.761 (high) Yes
 European Union 449,206,209 4,233,262 17,127,535 38,256 20,918,062 53,960 186 0.911 (very high) (France)
 India 1,456,604,163 3,287,263 3,468,566 3,057 10,207,290 10,475 81.4 0.645 (medium) No
 Russia 144,458,123 17,125,191 2,133,092 11,654 4,328,122 31,967 86.4 0.824 (very high) Yes

Former candidates

Japan

In the 1980s, some political and economic analysts predicted that Japan would eventually accede to superpower status, due to its large population, growing economic, military, industrial, technological and cultural influence, large gross domestic product, and high economic growth at that time. Japan's economy was expected to eventually surpass that of the United States. However, this prediction failed to materialise following a stock market crash and the resulting "Lost Decades", where Japan has suffered a flat to negative economic outlook, while its population has been aging since the late 1980s before suffering real decline in total population starting in 2011.

Germany

In the 1940s, the Nazis occupied much of Europe together with their Axis allies such as Italy, and threatened Britain. They even destroyed France, which was a great power at the time, and gave France a period of humiliation called Vichy France, and as expansionism accelerated both in military power and territory to the point of swallowing up almost all of Europe, the United States briefly felt threatened militarily for 10 years. At that time, it expanded as imperialism and war crimes, reaching 60%–70% of the military influence of the United States, and in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and after initial success, it advanced almost as far as Moscow and implemented the Generalplan Ost and the hunger plan for racial cleansing in Eastern Europe. However, due to the Soviet Union's counterattack and the United States' entry into the war, Germany lost the initiative in the war from 1943 and retreated to Germany proper by the end of 1944. Large-scale bombing of Germany proper expanded, and the Axis powers suffered repeated defeats in Eastern and Southern Europe. Eastern Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union, and western Germany by the Western Allies. Hitler, who had not decided to surrender, died on April 30, and Germany finally signed the surrender document on May 8, 1945. The "thousand-year Reich" had lasted a mere 12 years.

French Empire

Although it is called the French Empire, it is also commonly called the 'Napoleonic Empire' because it was an empire created by one person, Napoleon. As soon as Napoleon I ascended to the throne, he pursued a modernization policy for the city in order to make Paris, the capital of France, the best capital in the world. He established a new calculation system for furniture (even and odd numbers), installed fountains, organized cemeteries, and reorganized squares, halls, markets, riverside areas, embankments, public facilities, and monumental buildings. In addition, statues of high-ranking people and great men were erected throughout the streets.The bridge was built. It began in 1804, when Napoleon crowned himself emperor at Notre Dame Cathedral, and disappeared into history in 1814, when Napoleon fell and was exiled to Elba. There was a brief Hundred Days in 1815, but it was completely destroyed by the Battle of Waterloo.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

It was one of the European maritime powers that traversed the Atlantic Ocean, and imitating the empire, since small European trading companies lacked the capital or manpower for large-scale operations, the Dutch Parliament chartered the Dutch West India Company and the Dutch East India Company in the early 17th century. These companies were known as the largest and most extensive maritime trading companies of their time, and at one time monopolized European trade routes to South America, eastern Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, and the entire Southern Hemisphere via the Strait of Magellan.It led to the Industrial Revolution and the cultural flourishing of the Netherlands, known as the Dutch Golden Age. The Dutch Empire lost its colonies and trade monopoly due to the Anglo-Dutch Wars that took place from the late 17th century to the early 19th century.

Spain

It is a historical empire that once achieved global hegemony. From the 15th to the 19th century, it ruled vast territories in the Americas, the Philippine Islands, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the most powerful empires of its time. At its peak in the 18th century, it enjoyed such glory that it was called the "empire on which the sun never sets". Spain lost the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and had to recognize the independence of the Netherlands, and in 1659, it was defeated in a war with France and was forced to cede the Rosellon region in southwestern Flanders. During the reign of Charles II, part of its territory was ceded to France in 1678, and after the War of the Spanish Succession broke out in 1713 and the royal family changed to the Bourbon Spanish Dynasty, it gradually shrank, ceding parts of Flanders and the Kingdom of Naples to Austria.

See also

References

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