The USA and USSR were the two superpowers during the Cold War. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Here Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in 1985. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov;; born 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye Stavropol Krai) is a Russian politician

A superpower is a state with a leading position in the international system and the ability to influence events and project power on a worldwide scale; it is traditionally considered to be one step higher than a great power. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Power in international relations is defined in several different ways A great power is a Nation or State that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale Alice Lyman Miller (Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School), defines a superpower as "a country that has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world, and sometimes, in more than one region of the globe at a time, and so may plausibly attain the status of global hegemon. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS is a research university at the graduate-school level operated by the United States Navy. Hegemony (hɨˈdʒɛməni (Amer /hɨˈɡɛməni/ (Brit (ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social "^[1] It was a term first applied in 1944 to the United States, the Soviet Union, and the British Empire. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. Following World War II, the British Empire ceased to exist as its territories became independent, and the Soviet Union and the United States were regarded as the only two superpowers, who then engaged in the Cold War. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

After the Cold War, the most common belief held is that only the United States fulfills the criteria to be considered a superpower,^[2] although it is a matter of debate if it currently is a hegemon and if it is losing its superpower status. Hegemony (hɨˈdʒɛməni (Amer /hɨˈɡɛməni/ (Brit (ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social ^[3][4] Also, there is a debate regarding Russia's status as either a superpower or as a potential superpower. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Academics have speculated on Nations that are potential superpowers in the 21st century mentioning several candidates ^[5][6][7] China, the European Union, and to some extent India, are also thought to have the potential of achieving superpower status within the 21st century. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Academics have speculated on Nations that are potential superpowers in the 21st century mentioning several candidates The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ^[8] Others doubt the existence of superpowers in the post Cold War era altogether, stating that today's complex global marketplace and the rising interdependency between the world's nations has made the concept of a superpower an idea of the past and that the world is now multipolar. Polarity in international relations is a description of the distribution of power within the international system ^{[9][10][11][12]}

Application of the term

The term superpower was used to describe nations with greater than Great Power status as early as 1944, but only gained its specific meaning with regard to the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. A great power is a Nation or State that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

There have been attempts to apply the term superpower retrospectively, to a variety of past entities such as, Ancient Egypt^[13][14], Ancient Greece^[15][16], the Persian Empire,^[17][18] Roman Empire,^[19][20], the Spanish Empire, and the largest empire of all time, the British Empire. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. ^[21][22] Recognition by historians of these older states as superpowers may focus on various superlative traits exhibited by them. For example, at its peak the Spanish Empire was among the largest the world had ever seen. This article provides a list of the largest Empires in world history.

Origin

A world map of 1945. According to William T. R. Fox, the United States (blue), the Soviet Union (red), and the British Empire (green) were superpowers. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power.

The term in its current political meaning was coined in the book The Superpowers: The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union – Their Responsibility for Peace (1944), written by William T.R. Fox, an American foreign policy professor. William Thornton Rickert Fox (1912-1988 generally known as WT The book spoke of the global reach of a super-empowered nation. ^[23] Fox used the word Superpower to identify a new category of power able to occupy the highest status in a world in which, as the war then raging demonstrated, states could challenge and fight each other on a global scale. According to him, there were (at that moment) three states that were superpowers: the United States, the Soviet Union, and the British Empire. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The British Empire was the most extensive empire in world history, which was considered the foremost great power and by 1921, held sway over 25% of the world's population^[24] and controlled about 25% of the Earth's total land area,^[25] while the United States and the Soviet Union both proved their newly gained power in World War II. This article provides a list of the largest Empires in world history. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The British Empire emerged from World War II significantly weakened and recognised to have lost its superpower status, while the Soviet Union and the United States were recognised as the sole remaining superpowers. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Characteristics

Military assets such as a Nimitz class aircraft carrier are a means of power projection on a global scale—one hallmark of a superpower^[1]. General characteristics Builder Newport News Shipbuilding Company Newport News Virginia Power Plant Two A4W reactors

The criteria of a superpower are not clearly defined^[2] and as a consequence they may differ between sources.

According to Lyman Miller, "The basic components of superpower stature may be measured along four axes of power: military, economic, political, and cultural (or what political scientist Joseph Nye has termed “soft”). Joseph S Nye Jr (born 1937 is the co-founder along with Robert Keohane, of the International relations theory neoliberalism developed in their 1977 ^[1]

In the opinion of Kim Richard Nossal of McMaster University, "generally this term was used to signify a political community that occupied a continental-sized landmass, had a sizable population (relative at least to other major powers); a superordinate economic capacity (again, relative to others), including ample indigenous supplies of food and natural resources; enjoyed a high degree of non-dependence on international intercourse; and, most importantly, had a well-developed nuclear capacity (eventually normally defined as second-strike capability). McMaster redirects here for others see McMaster (disambiguation. "^[2]

Former Indian National Security Advisor Jyotindra Nath Dixit has also described the characteristics of Superpowers. Jyotindra Nath Dixit ( January 8 1936 &ndash January 3 2005) was an Indian diplomat and politician In his view, "first, the state or the nation concerned should have sizable territorial presence in terms of the size of the population. Secondly, such a state should have high levels of domestic cohesion, clear sense of national identity and stable administration based on strong legal and institutional arrangements. Thirdly, the state concerned should be economically well to do and should be endowed with food security and natural resources, particularly energy resources and infrastructural resources in terms of minerals and metals. Such a state should have a strong industrial base backed by productive capacities and technological knowledge. Then the state concerned should have military capacities, particularly nuclear and missile weapons capabilities at least comparable to, if not of higher levels than other countries which may have similar capacities. "^[26]

In the opinion of Professor Paul Dukes, "a superpower must be able to conduct a global strategy including the possibility of destroying the world; to command vast economic potential and influence; and to present a universal ideology". Although, "many modifications may be made to this basic definition". ^[27]

According to Professor June Teufel Dreyer, "A superpower must be able to project its power, soft and hard, globally. "^[28]

Cold War

This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1980. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Consult the legend on the map for more details.

The 1956 Suez Crisis made it clear that the British Empire, economically ravaged by two world wars, could no longer compete on an equal footing with the United States and Soviet Union without sacrificing its reconstruction efforts, even while acting in concert with France and Israel. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. As the majority of World War II was fought far from its national boundaries, the United States did not suffer the industrial destruction or massive civilian casualties that marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia. During the war, the United States had built up a strong industrial and technological infrastructure that had greatly advanced its military strength into a primary position on the global stage.

Following the war, most of Europe had aligned either with the United States or the Soviet Union. Despite attempts to create multinational coalitions or legislative bodies (such as the United Nations), it became increasingly clear that the United States and the Soviet Union were the dominant powers of the newly emerging Cold War, and had very different visions about what the post-war world ought to look like. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The two countries opposed each other ideologically, politically, militarily, and economically. The Soviet Union represented the ideology of communism, whilst the United States represented the ideologies of capitalism and democracy. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system This was reflected in the Warsaw Pact and NATO military alliances, respectively. The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The North Atlantic Treaty These alliances implied that these two nations were part of an emerging bipolar world, in contrast with a previously multipolar world.

The Soviet Union and the United States fulfilled the superpower criteria in the following ways:

	The Soviet Union	The United States
Political	Strong Socialist Republic. The term socialist state (or socialist republic, or workers' state) can carry one of several different (but related meanings In strictly speaking any Had permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Strong ties with Eastern Europe and the developing world. Strong ties with anti-colonialist movements and labour parties.	Strong Capitalist Republic. A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Strong ties with Western Europe, Latin America, British Commonwealth, and several East Asian countries.
Geographic	Largest country in the world, with a land area of 22. 27 million km²[29]	Third largest country in the world, with an area of approximately 9. 6 million km². [30]
Cultural	Wielded influence through communist governments and left-wing dictatorships and organizations around the world. Rich cultural heritage based around classical music, ballet, literature, theatre, chess.	Influential in music, TV, films, art, and fashion. Freedom of speech and other guaranteed rights for residents. Wielded influence by supporting right-wing dictatorships in undeveloped countries and democracy in developed countries.
Military	Essentially land-based: Largest armed forces in the world,[31] one of the two most powerful air forces, one of the strongest navies. The capability to develop advanced military and space technologies, and the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons for the second half of the Cold War. Unequalled global intelligence network (KGB). KGB ( Transliteration of "КГБ" is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security ( Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty	Essentially naval-based: World's largest and most powerful navy with amphibic capabilities,[32] bases all over the world, particularly in an incomplete "ring" bordering the Warsaw Pact to the West, South and East. Largest nuclear arsenal in the world during the first half of the Cold War — stationed on its own soil and also in Europe. One of the largest armies in the world, and one of the two most powerful air forces in the world. Powerful military allies in Western Europe (NATO). The North Atlantic Treaty
Economic	Second largest economy in the world. Enormous mineral and energy resources, and large farming areas. Largely self-sufficient.	Largest economy in the world. Large resources of minerals, metals, and timber, large and modernized farming industry.
Demographic	Had a population of 286. 7 million in 1989, the third largest on Earth behind China and India. [33]	Had a population of 248. 7 million in 1990, at that time the fourth largest on Earth. [34]

The idea that the Cold War period revolved around only two blocs, or even only two nations, has been challenged by some scholars in the post-Cold War era, who have noted that the bipolar world only exists if one ignores all of the various movements and conflicts that occurred without influence from either of the two superpowers. Additionally, much of the conflict between the superpowers was fought in "proxy wars", which more often than not involved issues more complex than the standard Cold War oppositions. A proxy war is the war that results when two powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly

After the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s, the term hyperpower began to be applied to the United States, as the sole remaining superpower of the Cold War era. A hyperpower or omnipower is a state that is militarily economically and technologically dominant on the world stage ^[2][35] This term, coined by French foreign minister Hubert Védrine in the 1990s, is controversial and the validity of classifying the United States in this way is disputed. Hubert Védrine (born July 31, 1947) is a French Socialist politician One notable opponent to this theory, Samuel P. Huntington, rejects this theory in favor of a multipolar balance of power. Samuel Phillips Huntington (born April 18, 1927) is an American political scientist who gained prominence through his " Clash of Civilizations In International relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces

Other International Relations theorists, such as Henry Kissinger, theorize that because the threat of the Soviet Union no longer exists to formerly American-dominated regions such as Japan and Western Europe, American influence is only declining since the end of the Cold War, because such regions no longer need protection or have necessarily similar foreign policies as the United States. Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German -born American bureaucrat diplomat and 1973 ^[36]

Post Cold War (1991-)

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that ended the Cold War, the post-Cold War world was sometimes considered as a unipolar world^[37][38], with the United States as the world's sole remaining superpower. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Polarity in international relations is a description of the distribution of power within the international system The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[39] In the words of Samuel P. Huntington, "The United States, of course, is the sole state with preeminence in every domain of power — economic, military, diplomatic, ideological, technological, and cultural — with the reach and capabilities to promote its interests in virtually every part of the world. "^[40]

Most experts argue that this older assessment of global politics was too simplified, in part because of the difficulty in classifying the European Union at its current stage of development. Global politics is the discipline that studies the political and economical patterns of the world The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Others argue that the notion of a superpower is outdated, considering complex global economic interdependencies, and propose that the world is multipolar. Polarity in international relations is a description of the distribution of power within the international system ^{[9][10][11][12]} According to Samuel P. Huntington, "There is now only one superpower. But that does not mean that the world is unipolar. A unipolar system would have one superpower, no significant major powers, and many minor powers. " Huntingdon thinks, "Contemporary international politics" . . . "is instead a strange hybrid, a uni-multipolar system with one superpower and several major powers. "^[40]

Additionally, there has been some recent speculation that the United States is declining in power. Citing economic hardships, Cold War allies becoming less dependent on the United States, a rapidly declining dollar, the rise of other great powers around the world, and decreasing education, some experts have suggested the possibility of America losing its superpower status in the distant future. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[41][42][43]

Potential superpowers

Main article: Potential superpowers

The present day governments to be called, or to remain, a potential superpower for the 21st century. Academics have speculated on Nations that are potential superpowers in the 21st century mentioning several candidates The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.

Academics and other qualified commentators sometimes identify potential superpowers thought to have a strong likelihood of being recognized as superpowers in the 21st century. The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The record of such predictions has not been perfect. For example in the 1980s some commentators thought Japan would become a superpower, due to its large GDP and high economic growth at the time. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ^[44]

Due to their large populations, growing military strength, and economic potential and influence in international affairs, the European Union,^[45][46] China,^[47][48] India,^[49][50], and Russia. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending ^[51][52][53] are among the powers which are most often cited as having the ability to influence future world politics and reach the status of superpower in the 21st century. While some believe one (or more) of these countries will replace the United States as a superpower, others believe they will rise to rival, but not replace, the United States. ^[54].

References

External links

• The Rise of India- Report by Goldman Sachs
• USC U.S.-China Institute - monitors trends in contemporary China
• US-China Today - magazine with daily news summaries on China

Bibliography

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