Language and Culture 1

Profesorado de Ingles ISDF19

Profesora: Carlassare Jorgelina
Alumnas: Aguirre Roxana, Moran Lucrecia, Farias Evelyn

Superpower geography

What is a Superpower?
Superpowers are nations, or grouping of nations, that have a disproportionate degree of
power compared with others nations. The Superpowers dominate weaker countries and
also the World. A useful definition of superpower is that a ¨superpower must be able to
conduct a global strategy... to command vast economic potential and influence and
present a universal ideology¨. These share a number of characteristics:

• Economic wealth- money is required to fund the contruction of infraestructure.

Money can be used to buy influence.
• Military dominance- the use of military force and the threat of it is a source of
power. Military power needs to be mobile and capable of reaching distant places
if it is to be truly potent threat.
• Dominat ideology- a superpower nation usually has a set of shared core beliefs
and values that are believed to be superior to the beliefs of others.
• Plentiful resources- many superpower nations have large natural resources such
as land, fossil fuels, mineral wealth and people. A resource base may be
important in the early stages of economic development.
• They also need other dimensions as Geography (Geographical influence: large
land/ sea area : enough resources to be self sustaining if necessary), Population
(large and vast), Economy (Economic influence: large national economy, high
economy growth, large number of companies (MNC, S), Economic self
suffiency), Resources, Military (Influence: large ability to project power over the
Globe, large land, sea and air army which can be easily deployed, Possession of
nuclear arsenal power advantageous. Its distribution is partly historical and
partly modern), Diplomacy and National Identity, Superpower also opposed
ideologically, politically, military and economically. Sometimes the Cultural
Influence is very strong over other nations too : Religion, Politics decisions and
Language can be clear examples of it.
An example of it U.S.A promoted the ideology of liberal democracy and free market
and while talking in international affairs it also affected intergovernmental organizations
political and decision making.

Superpower status is achieved when these characteristcs reinforce each other to create a
powerful global force. They do not need to rule colonies directly anymore as in the
colonies ´s past time. The Superpower have a very strong economic capacity, supplies
of food and natural resources (a high degree of non dependence on international
intercourse, and nuclear capital and a second strike).
To the italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, hegemony was the dominant
ideology of the ruling classes which the rest of society accepted and, did not revolt
against.
Gramsci`s ideas can be extended to the influence of superpowers. Their power is partly
maintened because other nations and people accept them as there seems to be
alternative.
Case study 1
The Roman Empire was the first true superpower. The genius of the Romans was to
recognise that power could not be maintened by force alone. The Roman army and navy
were both technologically advanced fighting machines but they could not police every
corner of the bast empire. Rome needed to exert its hegemony in ways that made
conquered people ´buy in´ to the Roman way of life such as the sanitation, the medicine,
education, public order, etc.
Case study 2
In the nineteenth century the British Empire was the innovative core of the rapidly
expanding industrial revolution. The Empire maintained by force and the threat of force.
A global Royal Navy protected trade routes and dispersed troops and arms to trouble
spots. Britain ruled a unipolar war for most of the nineteenth century.
The British Empire was the first truly global superpower empire. From the late 1850´s,
Britain undertook to connect its empire using undersea telegraph cables to transmit
messages around the world using Morse code. British imperialists had created a kind of
´Victorian internet´.

End of empire
The Roman and British empires eventually collapsed, despite there technological
sophistication and military and economic power. For Britain, it is easy to blame Second
World War for the collapse.
The British Empire was affected by a number of factors that undermined its stability:
• Pressure for greater independence in the ´white´ colonies of Canada and
Australia.
• Internal pressures at home, such as the demand for female suffrage.
• The rising power of USA, Russia and Germany leading to arms races in the
build up to both World Wars

The end of empire and Cold War

Empire building ended in 1945 when the European powers begane a period
descolonisation. During the postwar period power extractor have taken a different form
based on international relations. International organisations made decisions during this
period.
The postwar consensus did not last long. Between 1945 and 1950 the geography of
Europe was reshaped as two conflicting superpower visions of the world clashed.
Capitalism, in the shape of USA, and communism, in the shape of USSR, fought for
sphere of influence hegemony in Europe. These are two political and economic systems
that are fundamentally opposed. The central idea of capitalism is individual ownership
and welth and property. The idea of communism is government ownership of property.
By 1950, the two Cold War superpowers were engaged in a nuclear arms race, which
ended only with the collapse of communism in 1990.
Case study 3
In 2009, the EU represented the world´s largest economy. The EU is and economic and
political alliance of sovereing states which operates as a trade bloc. In some ways, the
EU might be classed as a superpower:
• Its economy is large, and per capita incomes are high.
• It is a nuclear power with large military resources.
• It has a global currency, the euro, and few internal borders or barriers to prevent
trade and migration.

In some ways, the EU is a federation of states in much the same way as 50 states make
up the USA. In other ways, the EU lacks the coherence of a superpower:
• Some countries, have opted out of policies such as the euro and a borderless
states. This weakens the impact of these policies as they are not universally
adopted
• The 27 governments of the EU differ on as many policies as they agree on.
• The EU has yet to develop a truly joint defense and foreign policy

The EU has grown gradually, over a period of 50 years, to become a rival to the USA at
least in terms of economic powers. However, a union of 27 sovereign states is very
different to one sovereign state. In 2004 many former Warsaw Pact countries in what
had been communist eastern Europe joined the EU. This radical shift in Europe´s
political and economic geography might be seen as the final chapter in the story of a
Europe divided by Cold War geopolitics.

Ancient and Historic Superpower Examples:

Ancient Egypt, The Persian Empire of Alexander the Great, The Roman Empire, The
Portuguese Empire, The Spanish Empire and The First French Empire of Napoleon.

Mechanics of Power:
In the Colonial times: forceful takeover land and rights, Imposition of colonial legal
system and government by authoritative order (having the force of law), it hasn’t been a
democratic process not even carry on in legal and trustful suffrage terms.
The United States, Britain and The Soviet Union were accused of Cultural Imperialism.
All the allies s connection in the modern global economic system leaded to a
competition in the market and a struggle for the large market itself. This global
competition between the weaker countries which want to obtain a status or a great
position to overcome its actual law status produced that states instead of negotiating
fight or challenge between them all.

Superpower Geographies
U.S.A+EUR: Hyperpower (equal powers)
China: (The key to Emerging Powers)
Russia and India: Emeging Powers (Strenght)
Brazil, Japan and the Gulf States (Regional Powers)

Superpowers and conflict

THE NATURE OF CONFLICT:
A conflict occurs when two or more parties disagree. In some cases conflict can
escalate into a military clash, in other words a war. Conflicting parties can range in
scale from individuals in an argument up to a global conflict such as the Second World
War. In some cases a conflict is easier to solve but in others can cause multiple effects
and it is difficult to unravel.
Conflict need not lead to warfare and usually does not. War is prevented by:
DIPLOMACY: conflicting parties are encouraged to settle their differences through
discussion.
NEGOTIATION: this may involve making a deal, or offering some form of
compensation or trade-off to solve the dispute.
ISOLATION: countries may be isolated politically and economically by the use of
sanctions or by withdrawing trade or communication links.

Why do the superpowers often have a conflict?

JUSTICE AND RIGHTS: some conflicts are seen as being just because they attempt
to right a wrong. For example freeing an enslaved or conquered people.
MORAL AND VALUES: conflicting cultural views and norms are often reinforced by
different religions. Different groups have differences over what is wrong and right.
This type of conflict includes different political ideologies such as capitalism versus
communism.
RESOURCES: conflict can occur due to the need for water, land or mineral resources.
This may mean someone else´s territory must be taken to obtain these.
ETHNICITY: many conflicts are based on ethnic and racial differences and the desire
of one group to dominate a territory by expelling another group.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONFLICTS

INTERNAL CONFLICT: A civil war
PROXY CONFLICT: Occurs when outside influences are involved in what appears to
be an internal conflict, perhaps by supplying arms, finance or other assistance.
EXTERNAL CONFLICT: Occurs when two or more nation states are directly at war
with each other but the conflict is confined to one region.
GLOBAL CONFLICT: Occurs when numerous countries take sides creating different
theatres of war in widely spread regions, for example The Second World War.
SUPERPOWER CONFLICT:
the American social scientist Organ ski developed the power transition theory in the
late 1950s. He argued that power approximates to a hierarchy of different types of
state:
SUPERPOWERS: globally dominant
EMERGING POWERS: rivals to the superpowers.
REGIONAL POWERS: not powerful enough to challenge those above them.
SMALL POWERS: the remaining, weak nations.
Organ ski said that the superpowers organize global systems in their own interest. In
order to promote their ideology.
Talking about the conflicts that superpowers have and the causes of these conflicts ,
bring as a result million of innocent people dying because of war and global
terrorism.
For that reason the superpowers want to change their status, they do that with
prestige like winning the Olympic Games, the space race, technology. Being the first in
the Olympics, having the best technology or having the best instruments to go to the
space show dominance on the world stage with nothing to lose but pride. The winners
were claiming their ideology to be the best.
Some of the consequences that the World suffers
because of the ambition of the Superpowers.
Dominant position and cultural hegemony influence from other countries, oppression,
no freedom and business and market control, imposition of cultural values and ideas,
Specially the Western Culture and Western Capitalism. Dollar controlling most of the
weaker countries, economy and international politics.
The education controlled by the curriculums in its contents, persecution of intellectual
scientific or political thinking.
Scarcity of water, pollution, the green house effect, global warming, climate change, out of
resources, not longer sustainability, environmental damage, die of biodiversity and cutting down
of vast forests, the evanescence of not renewable resource such as carbon. Fuel, etc
Global insecurity because throughout terrorism and fear they obtain control, hatred, violence
and world wars.
Sometimes even genocide and slavery of minorities, immigrants and ethnicity discrimination,
etc. Civil rights violated and poor and rich not equal opportunities.