Foremost power

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The term foremost power has been used by political scientists and historians to describe the allegedly greatest power in the world, or in a given region, during a certain period of history. Multiple empires have been described as such, often for the same time period, resulting in a problematic assessment of the conflicting scholarly opinions and points of view on the matter. There is therefore a general lack of consensus between the various authors and scholars in reference to the nations and empires that were allegedly the world's most powerful at various points in history. [1] [2]

Contents

The status of foremost power globally implies that of superpower. However, it does not necessarily mean that the world is unipolar nor that there is a sole superpower. Currently, the United States is no longer an uncontested superpower, partly due to not dominating in every single domain (i.e. military, culture, economy, technology, diplomatic) in every part of the world. Although it is still the most powerful military and has the largest economy by nominal GDP (although China has surpassed the United States in GDP purchasing power parity, and could surpass the United States nominal GDP in the coming decades [3] [4] [5] ), China has made significant gains in cultural influence and technology. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] The United States became the world's foremost power at the end of the Second World War, as the Soviet Union was a power of comparable influence, but lagged far behind the United States in economy and wealth. The United States remained the world's foremost power until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, at which point it became the world's sole superpower. Opinions differ on when China's rise changed the United States' position from an uncontested sole superpower to a contested one. However, most agree that this happened sometime in the late 2000s or early 2010s post-Great Recession. While China's rise decreases the power gap between them and the United States, the United States is forecasted to remain the world's foremost power for the next couple of decades.

According to the Asia Power Index 2023, the United States still takes the lead on the military capacity, cultural influence, resilience,defense networks, economic resources, and future resources but lags behind China in the two parameters of economic relationships and diplomatic influence across eight measures in Asia. However, the United States remains ahead of China in each of these categories on a global scale. [14] The term "potential superpowers" describes polities that could rival American primacy in the future. [15] [16] [17] [11]

History

The label of foremost power has been given to different empires that even co-existed at their peak. This can be explained by the fact that different scholars work on different sources and have different perspectives on what makes an empire the world's most powerful. For the first century, the term has been applied to the Roman Empire, which governed much of the ancient world for over five centuries, giving the city of Rome the nickname of Caput Mundi (Head of the world). [18] [19]

Giovanni Botero, one of the first scholars of international relations, identified the Papacy, head of the Roman Catholic church, as the foremost power of the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation era. [20]

In reference to the 16th and 17th centuries, when globalization emerged, the term has been applied to a variety of states including: the empires of Portugal, Spain, and their Iberian Union, and later that of the Netherlands, which all ventured out from Europe to establish colonies in the Americas, Africa and Asia; the Austrian Habsburgs in Europe; the Ottomans, Mughals and Safavids in the Middle East and Central Asia; and the Ming dynasty in the Far East. [21] [22] [23]

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Britain emerged as a foremost power, driven by its vast colonial empire and industrial prowess. Its naval supremacy, exemplified by the Royal Navy, ensured control over crucial trade routes and maritime dominance. [24] [25]

During the Cold War, the term has been applied to both the United States and the Soviet Union. The concept of superpower, developed in order to describe these two nations and (earlier) the British Empire, became more common than that of foremost power largely because it was not possible to identity a single hegemonic force in global affairs. This can be considered true for most of history as well.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hegemony</span> Political, economic or military predominance of one state over other states

Hegemony is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great power</span> Nation that has great political, social, and economic influence on a global scale

A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence, which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers' opinions before taking actions of their own. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status dimensions.

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A middle power is a state that is not a superpower or a great power, but still exerts influence and plays a significant role in international relations. These countries often possess certain capabilities, such as strong economies, advanced technologies, and diplomatic influence, that allow them to have a voice in global affairs. Middle powers are typically seen as bridge-builders between larger powers, using their diplomatic skills to mediate conflicts and promote cooperation on international issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional power</span> State wielding power within a geographical region

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Century</span> Term for American geopolitical dominance

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">BRIC</span> Term for a group of four emerging national economies

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Century</span> Idea that the 21st century will be dominated by India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Century</span> Neologism suggesting that China may dominate the 21st century geoeconomically or geopolitically

The Chinese Century is a neologism suggesting that the 21st century may be geoeconomically or geopolitically dominated by the People's Republic of China, similar to how the "American Century" refers to the 20th century and the "British Centuries" to the 18th and 19th. The phrase is used particularly in association with the fact that the economy of China has overtaken the economy of the United States to be the largest in the world. A similar term is China's rise or rise of China.

Several commentators suggest that India has the potential to become a global superpower, mostly due to its growing economy, high population, and large labour force. India has surpassed China to become the most populous country in the world with one-sixth of the world's population. Its median age is 28.7 years with a dependency ratio just over 0.4. It is the fastest growing emerging economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of East Asia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potential superpower</span> Entity speculated to be or become a superpower

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.

A maritime power is a nation with a very strong navy, which often is also a great power, or at least a regional power. A maritime power is able to easily control their coast, and exert influence upon both nearby and far countries. A nation that dominates the world navally is known as a maritime superpower. Many countries that become maritime powers become strong to defend themselves from an extant threat, as the USSR did during the Cold War to defend itself from the United States Navy. In that scenario, it is common for the emerging maritime power to focus largely upon area denial tactics, rather than power projection.

References

  1. ↑ A Political History of the World [ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ Münkler, Herfried (11 June 2007). Empires: The Logic of World Domination from Ancient Rome to the United States. Polity. ISBN   9780745638713.
  3. ↑ "China GDP to top US, but not until around 2035, Goldman Sachs economists say". South China Morning Post. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  4. ↑ Xie, Stella Yifan. "China's Economy Won't Overtake the U.S., Some Now Predict". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  5. ↑ Saul, Derek. "China And India Will Overtake U.S. Economically By 2075, Goldman Sachs Economists Say". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  6. ↑ "Should We Compete With China? Can We?". 2019-10-14.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. ↑ "Asia Power Index | US". power.lowyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20. The United States remains the most powerful country in the region but registered the largest fall in relative power of any Indo–Pacific country in 2020. A ten-point overall lead over China two years ago has been narrowed by half in 2020.
  8. ↑ "Patrick Cockburn: The US has faced decline before – but nothing like what's to come". The Independent. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  9. ↑ "From Hyperpower to Declining Power". Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  10. ↑ Walt, Stephen M. "How to Ruin a Superpower". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  11. 1 2 Hiro, Dilip (2016-10-11). "Think the US Is the Foremost Global Superpower? Think Again". The Nation. ISSN   0027-8378 . Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  12. ↑ "America's innovation edge now in peril, says Baker Institute, American Academy of Arts and Sciences report". news.rice.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  13. ↑ "China will overtake US in tech race". OMFIF. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  14. ↑ Institute, Lowy. "China - Lowy Institute Asia Power Index". Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  15. ↑ Bremer, Ian (May 28, 2015). "These Are the 5 Reasons Why the U.S. Remains the World's Only Superpower". Time .
  16. ↑ Kim Richard Nossal. Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower? Analyzing American Power in the post–Cold War Era. Biennial meeting, South African Political Studies Association, 29 June-2 July 1999. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  17. ↑ From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 (Published 2008), by Professor George C. Herring (Professor of History at Kentucky University)
  18. ↑ "Porque Roma se chama Caput Mundi" . Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  19. ↑ "Roman Empire | Definition, History, Time Period, Map, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  20. ↑ Skinner, Quentin; Gelderen, Martin van (2013-03-07). Freedom and the Construction of Europe: Volume 1, Religious Freedom and Civil Liberty. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-107-31140-4.
  21. ↑ Encyclopedia of World History, Ackerman-Schroeder-Terry-Hwa Lo, 2008: Encyclopedia of World History. Fact on File Publishing. 2008-07-08.
  22. ↑ Beller, Steven, ed. (2018), "Introduction: Austria and Modernity", The Habsburg Monarchy 1815–1918, New Approaches to European History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–24, ISBN   978-1-107-09189-4 , retrieved 2024-07-05
  23. ↑ Swart, Koenraad Wolter (1969). The miracle of the Dutch Republic as seen in the seventeenth century. London: H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd.
  24. ↑ "British Empire | History, Countries, Map, Size, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  25. ↑ "The British Empire". West Indian History, Heritage and Culture. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
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