To What Extent Is The USA
To what extent is the USA’s superpower status threatened by the emergence of the BRICs (15)
A superpower defined is a very influential and powerful nation. Currently, we live in a unipolar world and the USA is the only superpower. Factors such as economy, population, military strength and geographical location determine a nations superpower status. It is debatable whether the USA is currently being threatened by the emergence of NICs such as the BRICS, Brazil, India, Russia and China.
China may be considered to currently be the USA’s biggest threat. China’s military role is rising, it’s spending on military is increasing by 18% a year on top of this its bases are being extended from Asia to Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. This shows China’s military influence is growing which may threaten the USA especially considering that China has a staggeringly high population of 1.3 billion people so it has the potential to provide a very large army. China also has incredible economic strength, since early 1980s the economy has doubled in size every eight years. China has the largest sustained GDP in history. Because of this economic growth public spending on health and education over 50 years has provided China with a healthy, literate and skilled workforce. China has a 92.9 literacy rate which is quickly catching up to the USAs 99%. The high population of skilled workers continues to emerge and develop which is why the USA would feel threatened. However, it may be argued that China isn’t as big a threat as we may think if we judged by GDP Per Capita. In 2011 the USA’s GDP per Capita was $48,900 and China’s was $9,100 which shows that the living standards in China especially the more rural areas still have a way to go to be able to match the USA’s. Chinas global influence is also expanding as by the end of 2007 over 5000 Chinese companies had invested in 172 countries and regions around the world. This investment overseas shows China is making an impact all over
A superpower defined is a very influential and powerful nation. Currently, we live in a unipolar world and the USA is the only superpower. Factors such as economy, population, military strength and geographical location determine a nations superpower status. It is debatable whether the USA is currently being threatened by the emergence of NICs such as the BRICS, Brazil, India, Russia and China.
China may be considered to currently be the USA’s biggest threat. China’s military role is rising, it’s spending on military is increasing by 18% a year on top of this its bases are being extended from Asia to Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. This shows China’s military influence is growing which may threaten the USA especially considering that China has a staggeringly high population of 1.3 billion people so it has the potential to provide a very large army. China also has incredible economic strength, since early 1980s the economy has doubled in size every eight years. China has the largest sustained GDP in history. Because of this economic growth public spending on health and education over 50 years has provided China with a healthy, literate and skilled workforce. China has a 92.9 literacy rate which is quickly catching up to the USAs 99%. The high population of skilled workers continues to emerge and develop which is why the USA would feel threatened. However, it may be argued that China isn’t as big a threat as we may think if we judged by GDP Per Capita. In 2011 the USA’s GDP per Capita was $48,900 and China’s was $9,100 which shows that the living standards in China especially the more rural areas still have a way to go to be able to match the USA’s. Chinas global influence is also expanding as by the end of 2007 over 5000 Chinese companies had invested in 172 countries and regions around the world. This investment overseas shows China is making an impact all over