A superpower is a state with significant military power and global influence. The term was coined in 1944, when there were three superpowers: the US, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the US as the sole superpower, leading to anti-American sentiment. China is seen as a potential future superpower due to its growing economy and military.
In politics and diplomacy, a superpower is a state that has a leading position in the international system, capable of projecting significant military power anywhere in the world. A prominent professor of national security affairs, Alice Miller, defines a superpower as “a country that has the ability to project dominant power and influence anywhere in the world, and sometimes, in more than one region of the globe at a time, and therefore can conceivably achieve global hegemon status.” The term was coined in 1944 by William TR Fox, an American foreign policy professor, in his book The Superpowers: The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union – Their Responsibility for Peace.
In 1944, when the term was coined, there were three superpowers: the United States, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union. At its peak in 1922, the British Empire comprised 25% of the world’s population and 25% of its land area. During World War II, due to the tensions of war and the numerous independence movements between its colonies, the British Empire fell from its post as a superpower, leaving only the United States and the Soviet Union. For the following decades, during the period known as the Cold War, the rivalry between the remaining superpowers, the United States and the USSR, set the tone for world politics. A war between these two countries could have killed hundreds of millions of people and left hundreds of cities in ruins, but thankfully this never happened.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, this left the United States as the only remaining superpower in the world. The word “hyperpower” has sometimes been used to describe the current position of the United States, although the term has not gained widespread acceptance. America’s role as the new sole superpower may be part of the reason for the rise of anti-American sentiment in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s. Some countries around the world resent the hegemonic power of the United States and are particularly angry at its military activities in Afghanistan and Iraq, which they see as a veiled imperialism.
Some observers believe that the next superpower to enter the scene could be China. According to some analysts, the Chinese economy will surpass that of the United States, in terms of purchasing power parity, by 2020. China’s soaring rate of new construction is a testament to their ascendancy on the world stage, and their acknowledged Military buildup may seem threatening to others in the world, but it grants China a key position in international diplomacy.
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