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Summary ‘Assess the extent to which geopolitical power stems from a range of countries’ human and physical characteristics’
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Full marks essay on factors that govern superpower status
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‘Assess the extent to which geopolitical power stems from a range of countries’ human and physicalcharacteristics’ 12
The most significant characteristic that aids itself to geopolitical power is a country’s economic strength.
An example of this is with the USA, arguably the world’s preeminent superpower. The US has the largest
GDP in the world at $21.5 trillion which accounts for an extraordinary 24% of the world’s total GDP.
Adding to this that the world’s trade is typically handled using dollars, and it becomes clear that the USA’s
economy is a major contributor to its superpower status. This economic influence allows the USA to exert
considerable control around the world, evidenced through the USA’s influence over international
organisations such as NATO, the UN as well as having overseas aid donations in the billions. Economic
strength is more significant than military strength in terms of exerting geopolitical power due to its ever
present nature. A country’s economy is more relevant than its military due to the ability it has to influence
the entire population of other countries, unlike the military which is not used as often and rarely impacts
an entire foreign country.
Despite not being as significant as a country’s economy, military strength is still significant in determining
geopolitical power. A good example of this is with Russia. Despite not being the global superpower it once
was, Russia still wields considerable global influence, in large part due to its military. As of 2021 Russia has
the 4th largest military in the world, with over 1 million active personnel. It also spends almost $62bn per
year and has the largest number of nuclear warheads in the world at 6,255. All of this evidences Russia’s
military power, which they used in 2014. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, a pro-Russian peninsula in
Ukraine. Despite little local residence this was still carried out by Russia’s military and gave them
considerable influence within the area and attracted attention on the global stage, evidencing the
significance of military power. However, this example also evidences the lack of significance military
power has. The response to Russia’s actions were a series of economic sanctions from the EU and NATO.
The response to military action of economic sanctions evidences how the world’s leading countries see
economic strength as superior to military power. Military power is also more insignificant as it is rarely
used and it can only be used against surrounding countries, limiting its capabilities to extend a country’s
power by going against its direct rival. For example, Russia would never be able to, withstanding an
extreme event, use its military against the US, whereas economic activity can be used worldwide,
evidencing its greater significance.
Although still significant in determining geopolitical power, natural resources are less significant than
economic and military power. A country with lots of natural resources is Australia. Australia earns $20
trillion a year from mining and is known for its large reserves of coal, timber and copper as well as rare
earth elements such as uranium. The country also supplies over 14% of the world’s gold. Having natural
resources such as these is significant in enhancing geopolitical power as it opens up trade opportunities and
has the potential to create dependencies from other countries. This can be seen through the development
of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would allow European countries to access Russian gas. A drawback
of this for European countries is that it would increase dependency on Russia and make it more difficult to
go into conflict with them on the global stage, showing the significance of natural resources. However,
natural resources also have some drawbacks of their own in terms of their ability to enhance geopolitical
power. These include the difficulties of extracting them, which can be evidenced through countries such as
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Guinea and North Korea. As well as difficulties with
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