Next Superpower ?

[Rolfe DeWolfe]

I agree 100% comrade!

Can't tell if you're being serious or not right now.

I'm serious. I'm a supporter of the DPRK. Are you in the KFA? I am.

[The Conez Imperium]

The DPRK.

I agree 100% comrade!

Welcome to Nationstates!

[Seraven]

Can't tell if you're being serious or not right now.

I'm serious. I'm a supporter of the DPRK. Are you in the KFA? I am.

Friendship association? Led by Spanish?

[Puryong]

I'm serious. I'm a supporter of the DPRK. Are you in the KFA? I am.

Friendship association? Led by Spanish?

It has members from 120 countries.

[Seraven]

Friendship association? Led by Spanish?

It has members from 120 countries.

I just can't believe this.

[Rolfe DeWolfe]

I'm serious. I'm a supporter of the DPRK. Are you in the KFA? I am.

Friendship association? Led by Spanish?

Yes. The Korean Friendship Association led by Alejandro Cao de Benós.

[Glovania]

North Korea! Once they crush the filthy Americans and the West.

[Scientificum]

Russia. Because... Russia.

[Seraven]

North Korea! Once they crush the filthy Americans and the West.

Once in the past. 60 years ago.

Russia. Because... Russia.

Well...um.

[Puryong]

North Korea! Once they crush the filthy Americans and the West.

You mock, but despite crippling global economic sanctions the ideology of Juche and the people of the DPRK have managed to retain their strength. They have the 4th strongest military in the world, nuclear weapons & the undying loyalty and co-operation of each and every citizen.

[Scientificum]

North Korea! Once they crush the filthy Americans and the West.

Once in the past. 60 years ago.

Russia. Because... Russia.

Well...um.

I said Russia because Russia is just that. Russia. Who wouldnt want an evil superpower that destroys all capitalist clay?

[Puryong]

The Russian Federation is overtly capitalist now, you realise that right?

[Sun Wukong]

I say Russia has been off he Tatar Yoke for too long...

Rise Glorious Kazan!

[Seraven]

North Korea! Once they crush the filthy Americans and the West.

You mock, but despite crippling global economic sanctions the ideology of Juche and the people of the DPRK have managed to retain their strength. They have the 4th strongest military in the world, nuclear weapons & the undying loyalty and co-operation of each and every citizen.

Obsolete equipments is their weaknesses.

[Seraven]

Once in the past. 60 years ago.



Well...um.

I said Russia because Russia is just that. Russia. Who wouldnt want an evil superpower that destroys all capitalist clay?

Evil vs Evil.

[Tarsonis Survivors]

The Russian Federation is overtly capitalist now, you realise that right?

Ironically they're more Laisssez faire capitalists than the US is.

[Saiwania]

Only China has the potential for it. I think the Chinese will come to rule the world for the most part.

[Seraven]

Only China has the potential for it. I think the Chinese will come to rule the world for the most part.

In the future.

[Mike the Progressive]

The Russian Federation is overtly capitalist now, you realise that right?

Ironically they're more Laisssez faire capitalists than the US is.

Primarily because Russia is giant corporation instead of actual country these days.

[Puryong]

You mock, but despite crippling global economic sanctions the ideology of Juche and the people of the DPRK have managed to retain their strength. They have the 4th strongest military in the world, nuclear weapons & the undying loyalty and co-operation of each and every citizen.

Obsolete equipments is their weaknesses.

Which is why I don't believe they can become the next superpower yet, but it's almost inevitable once their financial situation improves. I mean they already have their own drones now.

I'd say vintage more than obsolete , they don't have lasers & whatnot but what they do have could still be pretty devastating.

[Seraven]

Obsolete equipments is their weaknesses.

Which is why I don't believe they can become the next superpower yet, but it's almost inevitable once their financial situation improves. I mean they already have their own drones now.

I'd say vintage more than obsolete , they don't have lasers & whatnot but what they do have could still be pretty devastating.

Unorthodox methods of wars like hackers and guerilla equipments.

[Puryong]

Which country has done as well as the DPRK has in a similar financial situation? Nobody. The US and Western world deliberately tries to cripple socialist economies in order to preserve the illusion that capitalism is the only stable economy - the DPRK is a thorn in the side of western imperialists.

[Othelos]

North Korea! Once they crush the filthy Americans and the West.

You mock, but despite crippling global economic sanctions the ideology of Juche and the people of the DPRK have managed to retain their strength.

I'd hardly call mass starvation and gross human depravity 'strength'.

They have the 4th strongest military in the world,

According to what measure?

nuclear weapons

That they will never use, unless they want to be blown to bits.

& the undying loyalty and co-operation of each and every citizen.

Yeah, because they're at gunpoint, and noncompliance means having their whole family thrown in labor camps or executed.

[Folmerica]

Ooh, one of my favorite geo-political topics.

Sadly it's often simplified by the media and any conversations I try to have with friends are usually "China's gonna conquer the world, everyone hide!" Well, no. And I'm glad there's this forum to discuss and argue ideas

As we all know, the US is the current hegemon of the world as the sole remaining superpower which is due to an all but miraculous combination of economic, military, political and geographical factors that all combine to make it the most powerful country on Earth and in history.

Now, let's look at the other contenders.

China is the most commonly mentioned as a future superpower, with people always citing it as the reason for the US's supposed decline from its position, which isn't necessarily the case and basically talking to most people about superpowerdom always comes around to this. Now, although their economy is growing at a frightening pace and on track to become the largest in the world in terms of PPP later this year, this does not a superpower make. This is due to the economy developing and, as we saw with the U.S, this is rapid and leads to the economy developing at a high rate. However, this has been largely driven by infastructure projects and that is starting to show with a massive property bubble and masses of buildings nobody wants or can afford to move in to. In addition, the country basically functions as a giant factory for the more developed nations of the world, with weak domestic purchasing power being one of the nation's biggest problems. Indeed, the Chinese government is working on these problems but as it is now, and for the foreseeable future, China is no superpower and will likely not overtake the U.S during our lifetime.

Another factor to consider is Chinese history. People usually make the assumption that as a superpower China will act just as the U.S does now, only it will be worse, because it is a communist state. This is not necessarily the case as we make these presumptions based on Western history. Whilst the west always excelled at building power by projecting force overseas, as seen in the era of European colonies with the British Empire becoming the superpower of its time and the U.S, itself the child of European colonists, following this idea by exerting its political and military influence worldwide, China has always been focused on domestic affairs. The West builds power through expanding outwards, China builds power by looking inwards. In addition, the nation is massive and diverse, so the government's primary focus is one governing their own country. The people believe China to be the greatest country in the world and see no reason to exert their will over far fetched nations. This means that although it will likely attempt to pull Asian countries under its influence, much of the world will likely remain untouched by China.

Now, onto Russia, the country that everyone inexplicably thinks is a superpower. And by everyone I mean the non political nerds. The reason for this is likely leftover Cold War paranoia and mind sets. Russia is a great power, but with a debt crisis, economic issues, a declining population, rampant corruption and threats facing it from all sides it's no superpower, nor is it ever likely to gain the position again. One often overlooked fact about the Soviet Union's power was the geography of it. During its existence, the Soviet Union's borders extended past the Northern European Planes, a large stretch of land that is almost indefensible, since it is essentially a massive stretch of flat land. Now, NATO is capable of, at any time, rolling troops across it and eventually conquering Russia. Obviously it's more complex than that but, even as technology has advanced, geography plays a massive role in warfare and a massive strategic liability like that could cripple Russia. In addition, the cost of moving goods across the nation means that it has to remain centralized, although plans to develop the east are being put in place to defend from growing Chinese influence, yet another one of the issues facing Russia.

India has potential, but with a population that's spiraling out of control, tackling poverty will be incredibly difficult and it will not be a superpower within a foreseeable timeframe. A great power, yes, but not a superpower.

The Middle East is no superpower, shale oil in the U.S is leading to a lesser dependance upon the countries for oil and as the world moves towards renewable resources, their influence will begin to dry up.

Now, the EU is an intersting one. Some argue that it already is a superpower, albeit a new kind not yet seen. They argue that its soft power makes it a superpower in its own right. Well, I'd argue that the U.S still has more soft power than Europe, due to the overwhelming amount of American products and culture that permeates through even Europe itself. In addition, this type of 'modern' superpower is arguably sustained only by the existence of a 'traditional' or 'true' superpower. Without a huge military, and by natureeconomic and political, force in the world to balance out other nations, no such power could exert that much force, due to lower stability worldwide. Coupled with European economic trouble (although this may be coming to a close) and a lack of actual power or centralization, the EU is no superpower.

Now, onto something interesting. In addition to the reasons the above nations will not become superpowers, there are several reasons the U.S is poised to remain not only one, but potentially the only superpower. As it is now, no nation is capable of projecting force on anywhere near the scale of America. Their military might is roughly equal to the remainder of the world. For example, the U.S has ten active aircraft carriers. The rest of the world have ten, combined. China has only just begun work on its first aircraft carrier. Coupled with the most advanced military tech in the world and military spending projected to remain ahead of even China's, who is attempting to catch up in terms of power, (the reasons for that come later) until 2050, which is where the forecast ends. Furthermore, despite the Chinese economy being incredibly large as an entity, individual income and GDP per capita remain abysmal. U.S workers are far more productive than their Chinese counterparts and the purchasing power of America is much higher.

In terms of soft power, American culture permeates through most other nations and they are the global leader. After all, who do the countries of the world look to in the event of a worldwide crisis?

There is also the factor of geography to consider. All one needs to do is look at a map with the Americas at the centre to see why the U.S is so powerful. They are positioned between Europe and Asia, the two largest economic areas in the world and with the engine of globalization, where goods are much cheaper to ship by sea than land and all trade travels through the U.S. In addition to that, the U.S has their navy positioned along all of the world's major trade routes, that's right, they can cut off any nation in the world from global trade, effectively crippling their economy if it lasts too long. Even China would suffer massively, without raw materials coming in for them to use or anywhere to ship their goods, even they would be forced to bend to the U.S's will. Hence the military, particualrly naval buildup of the nation. Of course, this would also damage the U.S, but if they chose to try and destroy a nation, they could.

This is also coupled with technological innovation, powerhouse Universities, influence worldwide, a growing population (while China's will begin to decline, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing and may speed up development), excellent economic recovery and the fact invasion is nearly impossible. The U.S's navy and airforce could match all of the world's while massive ground forces in Texas would prevent invasion by land from the south. Canada would also be easy to deal with.

So yeah.

TLDR; The U.S is on top and will remain there for the conceivable future.

[Othelos]

Which country has done as well as the DPRK has in a similar financial situation? Nobody. The US and Western world deliberately tries to cripple socialist economies in order to preserve the illusion that capitalism is the only stable economy - the DPRK is a thorn in the side of western imperialists.

No, the DPRK is a whiny, pretentious baby of a nation that crushes its citizens like ants for their obese dictator.