Week 1 PPOL 650 Reflective Comments 1

Chapter 1 Global Issues: Challenges of Globalization

A GROWING WORLDWIDE CONNECTEDNESS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION HAS GIVEN CITIZENS MORE OF A VOICE TO EXPRESS THEIR DISSATISFACTION. In Brazil, Protestors calling for a wide range of reforms marched toward the soccer stadium where a match would be played between Brazil and Uruguay.

Learning Objectives

1. 1.1Identify important terms in international relations

2. 1.2Report the need to adopt an interdisciplinary approach in understanding the impact of new world events

3. 1.3Examine the formation of the modern states with respect to the thirty years’ war in 1618

4. 1.4Recall the challenges to the four types of sovereignty

5. 1.5Report that the European Union was created by redefining the sovereignty of its nations for lasting peace and security

6. 1.6Recall the influence exerted by the Catholic church, transnational companies, and other NGOs in dictating world events

7. 1.7Examine how globalization has brought about greater interdependence between states

8. 1.8Record the major causes of globalization

9. 1.9Review the most important forms of globalization

10. 1.10Recount the five waves of globalization

11. 1.11Recognize reasons as to why France and the US resist globalization

12. 1.12Examine the three dominant views of the extent to which globalization exists

Revolutions in technology, finance, transportation, and communications and different ways of thinking that characterize interdependence and globalization have eroded the power and significance of nation-states and profoundly altered international relations. Countries share power with nonstate actors that have proliferated as states have failed to deal effectively with major global problems.

Many governments have subcontracted several traditional responsibilities to private companies and have created public-private partnerships in some areas. This is exemplified by the hundreds of special economic zones in China, Dubai, and elsewhere. Contracting out traditional functions of government, combined with the centralization of massive amounts of data, facilitated Edward Snowden’s ability to leak what seems to be an almost unlimited amount of information on America’s spying activities.

The connections between states and citizens, a cornerstone of international relations, have been weakened partly by global communications and migration. Social media enable people around the world to challenge governments and to participate in global governance. The prevalence of mass protests globally demonstrates growing frustration with governments’ inability to meet the demands of the people, especially the global middle class.

The growth of multiple national identities, citizenships, and passports challenges traditional international relations. States that played dominant roles in international affairs must now deal with their declining power as global power is more diffused with the rise of China, India, Brazil, and other emerging market countries. States are increasingly focused on cybersecurity as individuals, nonstate organizations, and other governments threaten them by attacking their computer networks.

The rapid march toward increasing globalization has been slowed by the global financial crisis. What is emerging is gated globalization. Countries have become more protectionist and selective about their trading partners and how much access they give to global finance. This gated globalization is demonstrated by the European Union (EU) countries’ growing reluctance to support deeper economic and political integration.

The slowing growth of globalization underscores the crucial role of finance and the policies of the United States in global trade and economic expansion. It highlights the interdependence of global financial markets and the pivotal role of the U.S. Federal Reserve System as the most powerful global central bank.

Globalization—especially economic, financial, cultural, and environmental globalization—has spawned debates around the world. These debates illustrate both the significant resistance to and the widespread acceptance of globalization. Although some aspects of globalization are embraced as positive, others are rejected as destructive to cultures, the environment, and political and economic institutions, especially in poorer countries.

This chapter examines the economic, political, and cultural aspects of globalization. Like all the chapters in this book, it demonstrates how politics, economics, and culture are intricately linked in an increasingly complex global society. It also examines the causes of globalization, various forms of globalization, periods of globalization, and debates about globalization. Given the significance of religion in global affairs, the chapter concludes with a detailed case study on challenges facing the Catholic Church.

.1: From International Relations to Global Issues

1. 1.1 Identify important terms in international relations

International relations  is concerned with the interaction of states. The modern state emerged in Western Europe in 1648, following the  Peace of Westphalia , which ended thirty years of war among various groups of princes and between political leaders and the Catholic Church. International relations, international politics, and world politics, which are all closely related, focus on states as the main actors. States are often referred to as nations, and most students of international relations use the terms states and nations interchangeably. They also use the term nation-state. The terms state and nation are related, but they are not exactly the same. A  state  is essentially a political unit composed of people, a well-defined territory, and a set of governing institutions. It is regarded as  sovereign . This means that it is recognized by other states as having the exclusive right to make its own domestic and foreign policies. In other words, it is an independent actor in world politics. The United States is composed of diverse populations and is based on primarily an  ideology . All states have ideologies, or systems of values, beliefs, and ideas. A  nation  is generally defined as a group of people who have strong emotional, cultural, linguistic, religious, and historical ties. The two concepts have become linked in everyday usage, and many scholars and practitioners of international relations use the term nation-state to capture this linkage. 1  International relations focuses on several main questions.

Those questions have to do with how the context of a government influences what it does, how a state achieves its interests in the international arena, and how a state explains its choices. 2  At the heart of these questions is the concept of power. Power is defined as the ability to get others to do things they would not ordinarily do or to behave in ways they would prefer to avoid. Central to an understanding of international relations is the view that the interactions among countries are characterized by a struggle for power. 3  This emphasis on states as the dominant, almost exclusive, actors in world politics is referred to as the  state-centric model .

All fields of study are concerned with theories. The general purpose of a  theory  is to describe, explain, and predict how humans behave or how things work in the real world under certain circumstances. A theory is generally defined as an orderly, logical, integrated set of ideas or statements about human behavior or things in our environment. All theories provide conceptual frameworks and simplify complex realities.

1.2: Pluralism and Interdependence

1. 1.2 Report the need to adopt an interdisciplinary approach in understanding the impact of new world evsents

A theory marking the transition from traditional international relations to global issues is that of pluralism and interdependence. Although this approach views states as the most important actors in world politics, it takes  nonstate actors  (i.e., organizations that are not formally associated with governments) into consideration. Its main concern is with how human activities are intertwined and interconnected across national boundaries. New and far-reaching forces of globalization are having such profound effects on the world that how we approach international relations must also be significantly transformed. James N. Rosenau and Mary Durfee have concluded that “daily occurrences of complex and uncertain developments in every region of the world are so pervasive as to cast doubt on the viability of the long-established ways in which international affairs have been conducted and analyzed.” 4  The rapid proliferation of states as well as nonstate actors, revolutions in technology and communications, the growing sophistication and global views of many ordinary citizens, and the changing nature of conflicts are all contributing to the complex environments in which we live. 5  State failure and the inability of governments to effectively address a wide range of global issues reinforce this transformation of international relations.

The violence and threat of violence that accompanied the emergence of modern states led to the pervasive emphasis on military power as the highest priority of states. The fear of losing territory or being eliminated was very real. It is estimated that 95 percent of the state-units in Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century have been destroyed or combined to make other countries. The devastating effectiveness of military force and the development of nuclear weapons that threaten the extinction of most of the world make countries extremely reluctant to use military force.

In addition to terrorism, there are other nontraditional threats to national security. Economic competition, the 2008 global financial crisis, population growth and migration, organized crime, drug trafficking, environmental problems, poverty, inequality, the globalization of diseases, piracy, and ethnic conflicts are among the threats to security. Recognition of these threats is strengthening the concept of human security in an increasingly global society.  Human security  is viewed as being linked to challenges that human beings face every day, most of which are not primarily related to military power. The concept of human security focuses on seven categories of threats. They are

· Economic security (an assured basic income)

· Food security (access to an adequate supply of food)

· Health security (access to basic health care)

· Environmental security (access to clean water, clean air, etc.)

· Personal security (safety from physical violence and threats)

· Community security (safety from ethnic cleansing and genocide)

· Political security (protection of basic human rights and freedoms)

The growing complexity of our world is generally viewed as giving rise to a new period in international relations, or postinternational politics. This transition is characterized by greater attention to interdependence and globalization, and a stronger emphasis on global politics in particular and global issues in general.  Global politics  refers to political issues and activities by states and nonstate actors that extend across national boundaries and that have implications for most of the world. But the concept of global politics inadequately portrays how economic, cultural, environmental, and demographic factors, among others, are creating a global society with  global norms  (i.e., a set of basic values that are increasingly common to human societies). This book focuses on  global issues . Stressing global issues indicates a recognition of how globalization intertwines many aspects of human activities and how essential it is to adopt an interdisciplinary approach in order to understand our world and its impact on our daily lives.

Generational change is profoundly influencing global issues. Young people have grown up in a world characterized by globalization. Their perceptions and access to communications technologies challenge many traditional concepts and practices in relation to states.

1.3: The Growth of the Modern State

1. 1.3 Examine the formation of the modern states with respect to the thirty years’ war in 1618

The state emerged over several centuries through struggles for power among institutions, groups, and individuals with military, economic, cultural, religious, and political interests. As we will see, the power of ideas played a pivotal role in the process. The spread of  humanism —with its emphasis on the study of ancient Greek and Hebrew texts, which concentrated on the Bible—strengthened individualism and critical thinking. Humanism was accompanied by the  Renaissance , which evolved in Italy in the fourteenth century and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times. Like humanism, the Renaissance concentrated on the individual, self-consciousness, creativity, exploration, and science. The combination of ideas, technological developments, ambition, the quest for freedom, and the constant struggle for power radically altered accepted practices, institutions, and patterns of authority. Because the Catholic Church was the dominant institution in Western Europe following the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, it was inevitably the target of those advocating change. Challenges to the Catholic Church were strengthened by the development of technology, namely, the printing press.  Johann Gutenberg  (1397–1468) invented the printing press around 1436.

As the Church’s influence eroded, queens, princes, and kings in Europe attempted to enhance their own power by promoting national consciousness and territorial independence. They were assisted in their efforts to consolidate their secular authority within their territories by the Protestant Reformation. This does not mean that European royalty emerged with an antireligious character. In fact, a clear separation of church and state within European countries is still a subject of debate today. This religious transformation was gradual. The most outspoken critic of the Catholic Church was  Martin Luther  (1483–1546), a professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg who had been motivated to act by the campaign for selling indulgences (i.e., pardons of temporal or secular punishment due to sin) in Germany. European monarchs also formed alliances with merchants to weaken the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. Small political units made it extremely difficult to engage in profitable trade and other economic transactions beyond their limited boundaries. Larger, unified political systems were beneficial to businesses because of uniform regulations and fewer taxing jurisdictions, and the enhanced ability of larger areas to enforce the laws. These economic interests coincided with the various monarchs’ desire to collect more taxes in order to acquire military technology and build larger armies.

Traveling through Europe, one notices that many towns are dominated by old castles. These castles symbolized not only military strength but also the political and economic independence of local barons. Refinement of cannons and the availability of gunpowder enabled Europe’s kings and queens to effectively challenge barons and others and to consolidate their power over increasingly larger areas. Between 1400 and 1600, large numbers of the smaller political entities lost their independence. An excellent example of how Europe’s monarchs strengthened internal control as they tried to weaken the power of the Catholic Church is provided by England’s King Henry VIII in 1534. Named Defender of the Faith in 1521 for his strong support of the Catholic Church, the king clashed with Rome when he decided to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, on the grounds that she could not produce a son. Instead of retreating after being excommunicated by the pope, King Henry VIII persuaded England’s Parliament to make him Protector and Only Supreme Head of the Church and Clergy of England, thereby creating the Anglican Church. The king ignited the spark of English nationalism and increased his own economic, political, and religious power.

Religious, cultural, political, economic, and technological developments ultimately led to the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618. The German Protestant princes, who also fought each other, were allied with France, Sweden, Denmark, and England against the Holy Roman Empire, represented by the Hapsburgs of Spain and the Catholic princes. The Hapsburgs, also concerned about maintaining their own power, often clashed with each other. The Thirty Years’ War had devastating consequences for Germany. Two thirds of the population perished, and five sixths of the villages in the empire were destroyed. Those who survived experienced great hardship.

1.4: Sovereignty

1. 1.4 Recall the challenges to the four types of sovereignty

Pressures for change that spread across Europe were accompanied by the formulation of new philosophies. The interaction of the power of ideas and change is demonstrated by  Jean Bodin  (1530–1596) and his major contribution to the modern idea of sovereignty. Bodin was a French social and political philosopher and lawyer. During the last half of the sixteenth century, France was experiencing severe disorder, caused primarily by conflicts between Roman Catholics and the  Huguenots  (i.e., French Protestants who were followers of John Calvin). Bodin believed that order could be restored through a combination of greater religious tolerance and the establishment of a fully sovereign monarch. In his Six Books on the Commonwealth (or state), Bodin stressed that the state, represented by the king, was sovereign.

Universal Catholic laws that governed Europe were replaced by  international law . Leaders and scholars realized that states also needed a system of rules and norms to govern their interaction and to establish order and predictability. This view was articulated by  Hugo Grotius  (1583–1645). Grotius was a Dutch lawyer, author, and strong advocate of natural law, and he is regarded as the father of international law. Grotius stressed that sovereign states were governed by natural law because they were composed of human beings who were ruled by nature and because it was in the interest of sovereign states to support an international legal system. A second component of the new international system was diplomacy. Diplomats, their possessions, and their embassies were regarded as extensions of sovereign states and accorded extraordinary legal protections. A third component of the system for maintaining international order was the balance of power, which attempted to prevent a state or group of states from becoming strong enough to dominate Europe. Finally, the new international system would rely on common cultural values and family connections to avoid disorder. 6

There has always been a gap between the ideal of sovereignty and the actual realization of sovereignty. There are four types of sovereignty:

1. International legal sovereignty, which focuses on the recognition of a state’s independence by other states and respect for its territorial boundaries.

2. Westphalian sovereignty, which focuses on the exclusion of other states from the affairs of the government that exists within a given territory.

3. Internal or domestic sovereignty, which refers to the rights of the government or formal organization of political authority within a state to exercise a monopoly of power over social, economic, political, and other activities within its borders.

4. Interdependence sovereignty, which reflects the realities of globalization. It is concerned with the ability of governments to control or regulate the flow of people, money, trade, environmental hazards, information, and ideas across national boundaries. 7

1.4.1: The Decline of Sovereignty

Information and technological revolutions, the ease of international travel, and migration are contributing to the erosion of states’ control over their populations as well as citizens’ declining identification with and loyalty to states, which are two key components of sovereignty. Migration, as discussed in  Chapter 11 , is profoundly changing perceptions of belonging to a country. Many migrants build communities in countries where they settle that replicate the places they left. They are constantly in touch with their home countries, travel to them, and invest in them, and some eventually return to live in them. Global communications have rendered borders essentially meaningless. Instead of relinquishing their original citizenship, many migrants add new ones, making dual citizenship and multiple passports increasingly common. Citizenship can also be obtained in several countries by individuals making investments in those countries.

Although not currently a significant challenge to sovereignty, the emergence and growing acceptance of bitcoin as an alternative to national currencies has the potential to weaken governments’ monopolies over the control of currencies. Bitcoin is a type of digital cash that is purchased with traditional money on unregulated online exchanges outside the United States. It is widely perceived as being of interest primarily to wealthy speculators and individuals and organizations involved in global crime. However, advocates of bitcoin view it as having the potential to lower payment processing costs and offering more secure transactions than traditional credit cards.

Even more transformative than the Internet is the emergence of big data. Big data is a term used to describe massive amounts of data that are too large for traditional data-processing tools. Big data can be analyzed for patterns or correlations that would not ordinarily be detected. It comes from videos, posts on Twitter, clickstreams, and other unstructured sources generated by millions of individuals as they conduct business and interact with each other. Although big data is principally utilized by businesses and large private organizations, it is influencing how governments function and further distributing power among states and nonstate actors. 8

Social media are widely perceived by governments as a direct challenge to state sovereignty. It is difficult for governments to control information. Social media enable individuals to disseminate news, discuss controversial issues, and criticize government policies in real time. By cooperating with traditional media, social media expose abusive government behavior to people around the world. Governments have had an advantage over citizens due to their discipline, organization, and secrecy. Social media allow people to quickly organize and engage in collective actions. Massive protests globally underscore the shifting balance of power between states and individuals as well as the erosion of traditional sovereignty.

1.5: The European Union: Redefining Sovereignty

1. 1.5 Report that the European Union was created by redefining the sovereignty of its nations for lasting peace and security

European states are voluntarily relinquishing some of their sovereignty to achieve political and economic objectives. European leaders redrew the map of Europe by extending the fifteen-member European Union (EU) eastward to include thirteen additional countries, most of them former Communist bloc countries. This unprecedented European expansion created a new Europe that has a population of 496 million and the world’s largest economy. The  euro  is the common currency of 19 countries in the EU. The global financial crisis contributed to high unemployment rates in Europe and threatened the survival of the euro. Public support for the EU declined sharply. Strong independence movements emerged in regions such as Scotland, Flanders, and Catalonia, and Britain advocated renegotiating the terms of Britain’s membership in the EU. Scotland’s referendum for independence from Britain, which brought out nearly 85 percent of the electorate, resulted in a vote by 55 percent of the ballots to remain tied to Britain. If Scotland had become independent, it would have negotiated its own relationship with the EU. 9  Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine created serious challenges for the EU in Eastern Europe. Many countries questioned the EU’s ability or willingness to protect their sovereignty. It also demonstrated complexities arising from economic interdependence between EU member states and Russia, particularly in relation to sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and Europe. Russia’s seizure of Crimea also reinforced growing perceptions of declining American power, which is discussed in  Chapter 2 . Many Europeans began to believe that excessive sovereignty and nationalism were leading causes of wars that engulfed the Continent and destroyed the most basic aspects of security and independence. This was especially the case in World War II. Statesmen such as  Jean Monnet  and  Robert Schuman  of France and  Paul Henri Spaak  of Belgium were visionaries who believed that a united Europe, in which traditional sovereignty would be redefined, was essential to preserving peace and security and preventing another European holocaust. The basic idea was that controlling coal and steel (materials essential for war) would ultimately result in the reconciliation of Europe. France and Germany, the two principal antagonists, would combine their coal and steel production. In 1957, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed a treaty that led to the creation of the Coal and Steel Community, the first major European institution. The Europeans signed the  Treaty of Rome  in 1957, which established both the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). Since then, in many areas of political and economic life, power has been gradually transferred from the state level to the European Union and its various institutions. For example, the  European Court of Justice  has powers that are similar to those of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1.6: The Rise of Nonstate Actors

1. 1.6 Recall the influence exerted by the Catholic church, transnational companies, and other NGOs in dictating world events

Nonstate actors, or  nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) , are not formally associated with states or the authority structures of states, although they often cooperate with the government to achieve their goals. Transnational NGOs operate across national boundaries and have achieved significant influence in world affairs. Their wide range of activities have led many observers to conclude that their emergence is almost as important as the rise of the nation-state.

There are several types of NGOs. These include

· Economic organizations, such as transnational corporations

· Advocacy organizations, such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International

· Service organizations, such as the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders

· Transnational terrorist organizations that seek to undermine governments

· Transnational criminal organizations that focus on profiting from illegal activities

With the exception of terrorist and criminal NGOs, nonstate actors have played four main roles that are generally accepted by states and international governmental institutions:

1. Setting agendas, NGOs often force national policymakers to include certain issues on their agendas.

2. Negotiating outcomes, NGOs work with governments and business groups to solve global problems.

3. Conferring legitimacy, Organizations such as the World Bank and transnational corporations derive legitimacy from the support or approval of various NGOs.

4. Making solutions work, Many governments and intergovernmental organizations rely on NGOs to implement their decisions in areas such as humanitarian relief and economic development. Two of the oldest and most significant nonstate actors are the Catholic Church and transnational corporations.

1.6.1: The Catholic Church

On the streets outside the Palazzo Montecitorio, where the lower house of Italy’s parliament meets, crowds gathered to participate in a historic event on November 14, 2002. Pope John Paul II was scheduled to address eight hundred lawmakers and national leaders, including Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Given the fact that Italy is predominantly Catholic, you are probably wondering why such an address would be significant. The pope’s speech marked the first time a head of the Catholic Church had ever made an appearance in the Italian parliament. Much of Italy, unlike the rest of Europe, continued to be ruled by popes until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1871, Italy was largely free of the papal authorities’ control, and popes were deprived of almost all their land. A compromise between the Vatican and the Italian government was reached in 1929, when the  Lateran Treaty , negotiated with  Benito Mussolini , the Italian dictator and leader of the Fascist movement, was signed. The Italian government recognized Vatican City as fully sovereign and independent, and the Vatican recognized the Italian government.

The Vatican has voiced strong opinions on social, economic, political, and military issues, especially under the leadership of Pope John Paul II. For many years, the Catholic Church strongly opposed Communism and reached out to Catholics in Poland and other Communist bloc countries in an effort to undermine Communist rule. Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, played a major role in the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. But the pope also criticized the West for its extreme materialism and individualism, as well as for its tolerance of poverty and inequality in developing countries. The Catholic Church condemned the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the United States, Russia, and other countries and opposed America’s military action against Iraq. But as the case study at the end of this chapter shows, the Catholic Church is facing its own challenges.

1.6.2: Transnational Corporations

A multinational corporation (MNC) is generally defined as a national company that has many foreign subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are basically self-contained, making what they sell in a particular country, buying their supplies from that country, and employing that country’s citizens. Transnational corporations are structurally different from MNCs. A transnational corporation is organized as a global entity. Although selling, servicing, public relations, and legal matters are local, planning, research, finance, pricing, marketing, and management are conducted with the world market in mind. Companies were instrumental in the conquest and settlement of North America, India, southern Africa, and elsewhere. The  British East India Company  was, in effect, the government of British-controlled areas of India for a long time. The  Dutch West India Company  was granted a charter that allowed it to make agreements and alliances with leaders of conquered areas, to construct fortifications, to appoint and discharge governors, to raise armies, to provide administrative services, and to maintain order.

Many global companies such as airlines and automotive industries collaborate across national boundaries, thereby complicating the ability of individual governments to effectively regulate them. Economic problems and growing concerns about inequality in the wake of the financial crisis have heightened public awareness of tax avoidance by global companies. For example, Apple and Starbucks sparked public outrage in Europe when they adopted legal strategies that allowed them to shelter their income from taxation. Global companies take advantage of tax havens in the Caribbean, parts of the United States (Delaware), Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. Governmental tax collection policies have not changed sufficiently to effectively prevent global corporations from sheltering their profits from taxes. 10

1.7: Interdependence and Globalization

1. 1.7 Examine how globalization has brought about greater interdependence between states

Interdependence  in world affairs, as it does in private life, involves mutual dependence and cooperation. This means that what happens in one place usually has consequences elsewhere. A war in Iraq, for example, drives up the price of gas at your neighborhood gas station. Countries rely on each other for raw materials, security, trade, and environmental protection. Their fates are intertwined, and they share a sense of mutual vulnerability, although some states are clearly more vulnerable than others in some areas. At the heart of the concept of interdependence is reciprocity.

Globalization  refers to shrinking distances among the continents, a wider geographic sense of vulnerability, and a worldwide interconnectedness of important aspects of human life, including religion, migration, war, finance, trade, diseases, drugs, and music. Globalization implies a significant and obvious blurring of distinctions between the internal and external affairs of countries and the weakening of differences among countries. Although globalization is generally regarded as the Americanization of the world, America itself was, and continues to be, profoundly shaped by the forces of globalization.

1.8: Causes of Globalization

1. 1.8 Record the major causes of globalization

The causes of globalization are inseparable from the human desires to explore, to gain greater physical and economic security, to be creative and curious, and to move from one place to another. The movement of large numbers of people from one part of the world to another over a relatively short time was facilitated by improvements in transportation. Canal building, the development of navigational equipment (such as the compass), the ability to construct stable oceangoing vessels, and the development and improvement of railways helped speed up migration. Improved transportation also made it easier to conduct trade over long distances and to colonize new areas.

Advances in military and medical technologies have also driven globalization. The ability to mount a cannon on a ship gave a country a decisive advantage over its opponents and also allowed the countries possessing them to expand commerce and to acquire territories. Perhaps nothing reminds us more about our interdependence than nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Our security is still greatly determined by the ability of nuclear powers to preserve the strategic balance and to prevent the use of nuclear weapons. Our sensitivity to how military weapons link our fates was heightened during the  Cold War  (i.e., the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union that occurred after World War II). We have entered into an age of uncertainty heralded by the use of both conventional and unconventional weapons by terrorist organizations.

As  Table 1.1  indicates, commerce and finance provided the foundation for many of these advances. A major cause of globalization is  financial market expansion . The availability of finance encouraged more economic interactions, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of

Table 1.1 Periods of Monetary Expansion and Globalization

Based on Michael Pettis, “Will Globalization Go Bankrupt?” Foreign Policy 126 (2001), 56–57.

Period	New Technologies and Commercial Applications
1807–1844	Extensive canal building, railway boom, steam power used in manufacturing, improved machine tool design, invention of McCormick’s reaper, commercial gaslighting, and development of the telegraph
1851–1873	Advances in mining, railways and shipping, and rapid growth of corporations
1881–1914	Increased productivity in Europe and the United States, improvements in steel production and heavy chemical manufacturing, first power station, spread of electricity, development of the internal combustion engine, and developments in canning and refrigeration
1922–1930	Commercialization of automobiles and aircraft, spread of artificial fibers and plastics, invention of new electrical appliances, and growing telephone ownership
1960–1973	Development and application of transistor technology, advances in commercial flying and shipping, and the spread of telecommunications and software
1985–present	Rapid growth in computer memory and information processing, advances in biotechnology and medical technologies, and commercial use of the Internet

new technologies. As  Chapter 7  demonstrates, the global financial crisis affects nearly all aspects of globalization. New technologies have made it easier to conduct trade, migrate, conquer territories, and resist diseases. These new technologies have now spread around the world, speeding up innovation and strengthening competition.

Global communications have been facilitated by the spread of the English language around the world during

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES MARKED POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION WHEN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK WAS BROUGHT DOWN IN EGYPT. An anti-Mubarak protestor held a sign praising Facebook for helping organize the protest in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt.

an earlier period of globalization. America’s dominant technological, economic, military, and cultural position in the world helps reinforce the centrality of English in all aspects of global life. Roughly half of the world’s population has access to some combination of cell phones and the Internet, enabling people to communicate within and across national borders. The communications revolution is regarded as the major cause of globalization because it directly affects economic, financial, military, cultural, environmental, and criminal globalization.

1.9: Forms of Globalization

1. 1.9 Review the most important forms of globalization

Among the most important forms of globalization are (1) economic and trade globalization, (2) financial globalization, (3) political globalization, (4) military globalization, (5) cultural globalization, (6) environmental globalization, and (7) criminal globalization. Although we will discuss each of these forms separately, they cannot be neatly separated from each other in the real world.

1.9.1: Economic Globalization

Economic globalization  may be defined as the intercontinental exchange of products, services, and labor. This form of globalization has a long history and has intensified with the emergence of new technologies and their diffusion to major parts of the world. MNCs have been instrumental in the globalization of both production and distribution networks. Consumers worldwide use similar products made by the same corporations. Economies around the world develop greater capability to produce and export goods as they obtain capital, technology, and access to distribution networks. As trade increases, competition intensifies, leading to lower prices and the elimination of companies that cannot effectively compete in the global market.

Economic globalization also includes the movement of people and the exchange of ideas. The most innovative companies encourage the formation of global teams that operate across national borders. Multinationals usually have training camps that help create a common corporate culture. Engineers from India, Japan, Germany, Australia, and elsewhere who work for Hewlett-Packard, for example, work with their American counterparts in Los Gatos, California. Economic globalization has also stimulated the development of global cities such as New York, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Milan, Sidney, Zurich, and Chicago. Companies put their headquarters in major cities to take advantage of the services of lawyers, accountants, consultants, and advertising firms.

1.9.2: Financial Globalization

Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, sent shock waves through financial markets worldwide, painfully demonstrating direct linkages among American, European, Asian, and Latin American economies. The financial world reacted in a synchronized manner, with each market that opened the day following the attacks falling precipitously in the first few minutes. A flood of sell orders inundated Tokyo Stock Exchange, delaying the opening and pushing the benchmark Nikkei index down 6 percent. All of the major stock markets declined dramatically in the week after the terrorist attacks.

Financial problems spread across the world almost instantaneously, reflecting how revolutions in telecommunications and computers have linked financial institutions. The financial crisis reflected this reality. Similarly, the earthquake and tsunami that caused widespread destruction in Japan in 2011 caused the Nikkei (the Japanese stock market) to fall by 12 percent. The G-7 (the seven leading industrialized countries) intervened to prevent the yen, the Japanese currency, from rising too much against other currencies. 11  Monetary policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve System profoundly affect the global economy. By making more money available at very low interest rates, the Federal Reserve has helped stimulate modest economic growth globally.

Four basic developments drive financial globalization, leading to the expansion and deepening of global finance. The first is the consolidation of financial institutions in most countries. Local banks were, until about two decades ago, largely locally owned and operated. The second development is the globalization of operations, which is evident everywhere as banking conglomerates extend their reach by forming strategic alliances with similar institutions in different countries. The third development is the emergence of new technologies that are familiar to all of us. Money moves across national boundaries at the touch of a button. The fourth development is the universalization of banking. Growing competition in financial markets, the increasing irrelevance of national borders, and the increasingly complex relationships among businesses have contributed to a blurring of bank and nonbank financial services.

Other forms of globalization have strengthened financial globalization. When the British Empire stretched across much of the world, the British pound became the strongest and most desirable currency. As British power receded, America rose to international prominence, and the U.S. dollar became the leading global currency. In 1944, the United States, Britain, and other countries held a conference at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to determine the international financial order. The conference established the  Bretton Woods System , which required the currencies of other countries to have an exchange rate fixed to the dollar, with the dollar fixed in terms of gold at $35 an ounce. This arrangement gave the United States significant influence over the international money supply.

The Bretton Woods System set up the  World Bank  (also known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) to help stimulate Europe’s economic recovery after the devastation of World War II. It also created the  International Monetary Fund (IMF)  to implement the rules of the international financial system and to help countries experiencing short-term balance-of-payment and liquidity problems. IMF loans, which now go primarily to developing countries, are given with certain conditions attached (e.g., reducing government spending, eliminating trade barriers, cutting social subsidies, devaluing currencies, and removing artificial barriers to foreign investment). As Europe recovered, and as the Soviet Union and other countries deposited their dollar holdings in Western European banks, European banks receiving deposits in dollars simply kept them instead of changing them into the national currencies. This practice resulted in the growth of  Eurodollar  funds. Large U.S. budget deficits—caused partly by the Vietnam War, domestic inflation, and the practice of many American companies of depositing their foreign currency earnings in European banks—weakened the U.S. dollar and strengthened the Eurodollar. These developments eventually contributed to the collapse of the Bretton Woods System. On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon decided that the dollar no longer was to be freely convertible into gold, thereby ending fixed exchange rates. Furthermore, large financial surpluses accumulated by oil-exporting countries as a result of the quadrupling of oil prices by the  Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)  in 1973 increased the liquidity of international banks. These financial institutions had approximately $50 billion to recycle through the world economy. Given the failure of global institutions to effectively deal with contemporary challenges such as financial instability, fluctuating commodity prices, and the diffusion of global economic and political power, currency reforms are viewed as essential. European countries using the euro grappled with their responsibility to shore up or bail out failing banks and nations in the “euro zone.”

1.9.3: Political Globalization

Political globalization  is characterized by the acceptance of states, the relative power of states, the proliferation of international and regional organizations composed of states, and the spread of nonstate political actors. The competition that dominated relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War is an example of political globalization. Most of the emphasis on political globalization is concentrated on the spread of  multilateral institutions . These are organizations composed of many states pursuing common objectives and include international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the British Commonwealth.

Many policies that were once considered to be primarily of local or national concern are now global, which suggests the strengthening of  policy interdependence . In other words, national policies of one country are intertwined with those of other countries, and many national problems can be solved only through global cooperation. States form  international regimes  to cope with problems generated by complex interdependence. Regimes are essentially institutions designed to regulate the behavior of their members. The basic goal is to establish orderly and predictable interactions to secure the interests of those participating in these international institutions. At the heart of most international regimes is the concept of  global governance , which refers to collective actions taken to establish international institutions and norms to deal with national and global issues.

1.9.4: Military Globalization

Military globalization  is characterized by extensive as well as intensive networks of military force. This includes both the actual use of force and threats to use violence. The most obvious example of military globalization is the nuclear age and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The balance of terror created by nuclear weapons threatens the future not only of the countries that have them but also of all human existence on the earth. Military globalization is demonstrated by several developments in modern history. These include

1. The competition among European powers and territorial expansion that resulted in the colonization of Asia, Africa, and the Americas

2. The emergence of international alliances and international security regimes, such as the Concert of Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

3. The proliferation of weapons and military technologies worldwide

4. The creation of global institutions to deal with military issues, such as the nuclear nonproliferation regime 12

1.9.5: Cultural Globalization

Cultural globalization —which involves the exchange of food, music, people, products, ideas, and technology across national boundaries—has very deep roots. Few people in Europe stop to think that potatoes came from South America, and few Americans realize that their cattle came from Europe and their corn from Mexico. The spread of ideas, technology, and products from China and other parts of Asia through the Middle East to Western Europe profoundly influenced the development of Western civilization. Imagine, for example, America without Christianity. Christianity, like Islam, originated in the Middle East and later spread across the world. Although cultural globalization is often equated with Americanization, it is a very complex development. Sports, which have generally been associated with nationalism, are one of the most obvious and emotional aspects of cultural globalization. World Cup soccer (football), which is watched by billions of people around the world, demonstrates the global passion for sport.

1.9.6: Environmental Globalization

Visitors to Boston generally observe that extremely valuable land in the center of the city has been preserved as a public park. The Boston Common was originally used by the city’s residents as a place where their cattle could graze. When discussing the environment, it is useful to think of our planet as a common. We are all affected by what happens to it, and problems can be solved only through the cooperation of the global community.  Environmental globalization  focuses on the interdependence among countries in relation to problems such as global warming, the spread of infectious diseases, air and water pollution, deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, and threats to endangered species.

1.9.7: Criminal Globalization

Criminal globalization is the intercontinental spread of global crime and its impact on governments and individuals. As  Chapter 12  shows, criminal globalization includes transborder crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, smuggling people, arms trafficking, piracy, and counterfeiting. National boundaries have never been effective barriers to the conduct of transnational crimes. As globalization has expanded, criminal organizations have deepened and widened their activities. Furthermore, globalization has imposed on governments certain burdens, such as smaller public budgets, decentralization, privatization, deregulation, and an open environment that is more conducive to criminal globalization.

1.10: Periods of Globalization

1. 1.10 Recount the five waves of globalization

Because globalization is a process that advances and retreats—and that is more intense at some points than at others—it is artificial to divide it into distinct periods. However, for discussion, we can identify five waves of globalization in the constant sea of change that defines human experience.

The first wave of globalization is as old as human civilization. For more than five thousand years, human beings from different places have interacted, mostly through trade, migration, and conquest. Globalization was occurring long before the language of globalization came into existence.

The second wave of globalization is closely associated with the Western European conquest of Asia, Latin America, and Africa and the spread of capitalism to these areas. This wave of globalization continues to influence developments within and among societies today.  Dependency  theorists view this period of globalization as being profoundly influential on global politics and trade.

The third wave of globalization, which began around 1870 and declined around 1914, was marked by breakthroughs in technological development, the global production of primary commodities as well as manufactured products, and mass migration. Less expensive transportation costs, the switch from sails to steam power, the development of railways, the availability of capital, and the reduction of trade barriers combined to fuel global economic growth. Vast areas of land in North America, Argentina, Australia, and elsewhere were cultivated, and agricultural products were exported. The production of primary products led to the demand for labor. In addition to the Africans and others who were already providing labor, about 60 million Europeans migrated to North America and Australia to work on farms. Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States became some of the richest countries in the world by exporting primary commodities and importing people, institutions, capital, and manufactured products. This explosion of global activities was followed by a retreat into nationalism from 1914 to 1945. World War I was followed by the Great Depression and a wave of protectionism, led by the United States. America attempted to protect its economy by enacting the  Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act  in 1930, a move that led to retaliation abroad. Between 1929 and 1933, U.S. imports fell by 30 percent, and exports fell by almost 40 percent.

The fourth wave of globalization, from 1945 to 1980, was spurred by the retreat of nationalism and protectionism and the strengthening of internationalism and global cooperation, led by the United States. The removal of trade barriers was selective, but institutions—such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)—were formed to encourage global trade and development. Many developing countries, relying on the exports of primary commodities, continued to be marginalized and disadvantaged in the global economy. This period of globalization was characterized by both cooperation and conflict. Efforts to encourage nations to work together in the United Nations were weakened by the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the economic aspects of globalization are usually emphasized, the most important form of globalization during this period was military globalization, which was dominated by the constant threat of a nuclear war between the superpowers.

The fifth wave of globalization, which is the current period, is characterized by unprecedented interdependence among nations and the explosive growth of powerful nonstate actors.

1.11: Resistance to Globalization

1. 1.11 Recognize reasons as to why France and the US resist globalization

Overall, many countries, groups, and individuals who resist globalization do so because they equate it with Westernization in general and Americanization in particular. Many see problems such as global inequality and conflict as direct results of globalization. However, much resistance to globalization comes from France and the United States, two countries that play a pivotal role in the process of globalization.

France’s opposition to globalization is strongly linked to its desire to retain control over its borders and to preserve its culture. Although France has been instrumental in creating European organizations that clearly diminish national sovereignty, it also sees a weakening of sovereignty as a factor that facilitates the invasion of France by immigrants, most of whom are Muslims from North Africa. France also resists globalization because it perceives it as an Anglo-Saxon threat to the French cultural model, which is portrayed as a “high-brow” culture of philosophers, fine dining, and intellectual films. Globalization is equated with the “low-brow” uniformity of American culture—fast food, bad clothing, and (even worse!) sitcoms. Globalization is also seen as promoting American individualism. France, on the other hand, values a strong centralized government that can provide essential benefits for the people as a whole. Consider America’s resistance to globalization. On several fronts, Americans are increasingly embracing a view of sovereignty that rejects participation in a number of international regimes. Many American intellectuals and policymakers defend American institutions from the encroachment of international institutions. At a more general level, many regard globalization as a threat to their jobs, wages, and culture.

1.12: Debating Globalization

1. 1.12 Examine the three dominant views of the extent to which globalization exists

There is disagreement about the extent to which globalization exists. The three dominant positions in this debate are assumed by (1) the hyperglobalizers and transformationalists, (2) the weak globalizers, and (3) the skeptics and rejectionists. The hyperglobalizers and transformationalists see profound changes in the international system such as the erosion of sovereignty and the weakening of nation-states, a borderless economy that integrates people everywhere in the global marketplace, and the emergence of new forms of social and economic organizations that challenge traditional states. The weak globalizers argue that this increased internationalization is not altering the world to the extent claimed by the hyperglobalizers and transformationalists. States remain

POPE FRANCIS MET AT THE VATICAN WITH MERIAM YAHIA IBRAHIM ISHAG, THE WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SUDAN FOR REFUSING TO DENOUNCE HER CHRISTIAN FAITH, AND HER HUSBAND AND TWO CHILDREN. Africa has seen the biggest growth in Catholic congregations in recent years.

sovereign, and people around the world, while living in the “global village,” continue to jealously guard their own huts. Finally, the skeptics and rejectionists basically argue that globalization is largely a myth that disguises the reality of the existence of powerful sovereign states and major economic divisions in the world. National governments remain in control of their domestic economies as well as the regulation of international economic activities. National governments determine the nature of global interactions. Inequality continues to fuel nationalism, and, instead of cultural homogenization, the world is dividing into cultures that remain suspicious of each other.

At another level is the debate about the nature and impact of globalization and whether it is temporary or reversible. Some groups see globalization as homogenization, whereas others view it as promoting diversity and greater tolerance of differences. Many nonstate actors view globalization as conducive to their efforts to improve social conditions, protect the environment, and promote democracy. By removing restraints on people’s movement, globalization is perceived as instrumental in giving individuals the power to choose. People are free to shape their identities, pursue an education anywhere in the world, and upgrade their standard of living. On the other side, critics of globalization focus on how cultural homogenization imposes Western values on others and destroys their traditions, religious beliefs, identities, and sense of community and belonging. Many believe that globalization is a threat to national sovereignty and autonomy. Environmentalists, for example, believe that globalization contributes to environmental degradation, and labor unions contend that globalization lowers wages and creates greater inequality.

Case Study Challenges Facing the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, the oldest and most widely known and powerful global nonstate actor, predated the rise of the modern state in Western Europe and continues to exert tremendous influence in global affairs and in the lives of more than a billion people worldwide. While the Catholic Church remains largely conservative and is the epitome of traditionalism and hierarchy, globalization is undermining traditional and hierarchical institutions everywhere and transferring power from centralized authority to individuals and groups. The global information age empowers individuals with communications technologies that weaken secrecy and strengthen demands for transparency and the free flow of ideas and information globally. Furthermore, generational change and globalization have combined to transform how people think about a wide range of issues over which in the past the Catholic Church exerted almost unquestioned authority. Since the 1960s, there has been profound social change, with individuals embracing autonomy and freedom of choice. Finally, the Catholic Church has weakened itself by its own behavior, especially pervasive sexual abuse of children and blatant attempts to cover it up and protect abusers from prosecution, while condemning as immoral behavior that many Catholics regard as normal.

The Catholic Church has also been weakened by its traditional opposition to artificial contraceptives, though most Catholics use them. Opposition to using condoms during an AIDS pandemic has created moral dilemmas for the Catholic Church. Faced with unrelenting criticism, Pope Benedict XVI said that condoms could be used by male prostitutes to prevent the spread of AIDS. As we will discuss in  Chapter 13 , the global community strongly encourages the use of condoms to prevent AIDS and other infectious diseases. Most Catholics also disagree with the Church on abortion and divorce.

Catholicism is also being challenged by Pentecostalism and evangelical Christianity, which are more egalitarian, less hierarchical, and less doctrinal. As Scott M. Thomas observes, globalization is making religion more pluralistic. Religion is increasingly becoming a matter of choice and is no longer imposed or taken for granted by prevailing cultures. 13  Evangelical Protestantism has eroded Catholicism in predominantly Catholic areas such as Latin America, especially in Central America. Less than half of Christians in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are Catholic. Sexual abuse scandals and economic growth have weakened the Catholic Church in Ireland, where more individuals are embracing traditional Celtic priestless religions. Fewer young people are joining the Catholic priesthood, and successful lawsuits have forced many Catholic churches into bankruptcy in the United States.

How can the Catholic Church respond to these fundamental challenges? One solution is to promote transparency and to assist in the prosecution of priests, bishops, and others who sexually abuse the most vulnerable members of society: children. Another approach could be to transform its message to deal with the realities of a globalized world without sacrificing its core beliefs. But the Church must also change itself and become less rigid. As societies become better educated and more scientific, both women and men reject traditional and subordinate roles assigned to women. The Catholic Church will have to give women equal opportunities. We saw that the growth of states in Western Europe challenged the Church. The modern forces of globalization are also transformative. Traditional institutions will have to face contemporary realities. Remarks by Pope Francis indicate that he is attempting to address the challenges facing the Catholic Church. He has called for the church to be more inclusive, to reject the cult of money, to focus on the poor, and to be less judgmental about homosexuality.

During his May 2014 visit to the Middle East, Pope Francis strongly supported a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also decried the “globalization of indifference” to the humanitarian crisis arising out of the conflict in Syria.

Summary

This chapter discussed the foundations of international relations and provided a general view of how interdependence and the forces of globalization are creating serious challenges to governments as the almost exclusive major actors in world politics. It examined how technological, economic, social, political, and philosophical developments in Europe contributed to the rise of the modern state, the concept of sovereignty, the system of relations among states, and the decline of the Catholic Church as the dominant political and cultural institution in Europe. It illustrated how political, economic, and cultural forces contributed to the rise of the modern nation-state and how they continue to be integral components of contemporary globalization. We looked at interdependence and globalization. Just as interdependence plays a role in our private lives (e.g., most of us do not grow the food we eat), it also plays a role in world affairs. Globalization creates more obvious and extensive webs of interdependence. The causes of globalization can range from social issues (e.g., migration) to technological advances (e.g., in fields such as communication and transportation) to economic issues (e.g., market expansion). The major forms of globalization are (1) economic and trade, (2) financial, (3) political, (4) military, (5) cultural, (6) environmental, and (7) criminal. Finally, we discussed the five historical waves of globalization and the current debate that exists between groups that have resisted it and those that have been more accepting of it.

Discussion Questions

1. What roles do nonstate actors play in international relations?

2. This chapter discusses the five waves of globalization and provides examples of globalization for each time period. What are some additional examples of globalization within some of these periods?

3. What factors contribute to the decline of state sovereignty? Give examples.

4. Discuss how advances in technology have contributed to globalization. What are some of the new problems we face because of these advances?

5. What are some of the arguments made against globalization? Do you agree or disagree with any of these arguments? Explain.

Chapter 2 The Struggle for Primacy in a Global Society

A COUNTRY’S MILITARY FORCE IS ONE COMPONENT OF ITS POWER IN THE WORLD. U.S. Navy ships in the Pacific are a show of dominance.

Learning Objectives

1. 2.1Evaluate leadership as one of the important constituents of power

2. 2.2Examine factors that influence the rise and fall of great powers

3. 2.3Analyze the case of the United States to highlight strategies adopted by leading powers to maintain their international position

4. 2.4Evaluate the political, economic, and military backdrop that engendered competitive relations between the US and China

5. 2.5Examine the internal, external, and nonstate threats to America’s leadership

One of the most discussed global issues is the rise of China and the decline of the United States. Throughout history, great powers—such as Rome, Spain, and Britain—have experienced growth and decline through competition and internal weakness.  Power transition theory , which is an offshoot of cycle theories, stresses that the distribution-of-power changes in countries will rise and fall. Dominant countries are often referred to as great powers, hegemonies, superpowers, or states that enjoy primacy in the international system. Often, these terms are used interchangeably. They generally refer to the ability of a country or a small group of countries to have extraordinary influence over the behavior of the other states.

When there are several  hegemons  (great powers) the international system is defined as being  multipolar . An example is the international system that existed before World War II, when the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the Soviet Union were considered great powers. Following World War II, there were clearly two dominant powers: the United States and the Soviet Union. The new structure was  bipolar . The disintegration of the Soviet Union created a  unipolar  world that was dominated by the United States.

A dominant country exercises significant power, has few potential rivals, and leads an international system that benefits other powerful countries. Most countries are at the bottom of the pyramid of power. Power is viewed as resembling a three-dimensional chess game. On the top chessboard, military power is essentially unipolar. This is where the United States dominates. Power is multipolar in the middle, where leading players are the United States, China, Western Europe, and Japan. Nonstate actors are on the bottom board. 1

This chapter examines the nature of power, factors that influence the rise and fall of nations, and the strategies countries use to maintain their dominant position. It focuses on the United States and China and concludes with a case study on challenges facing China.

2.1: Power and Leadership

1. 2.1 Evaluate leadership as one of the important constituents of power

Central to the rise and fall of dominant nations is the concept of power.  Power  is generally understood as the ability to get others—individuals, groups, or nations—to behave in ways that they would ordinarily try to avoid. Power capabilities are usually determined by economic strength, military strength, and political effectiveness. Elements of power include a country’s geographic area and location, its population, and its natural resources. Other elements of power are intelligence capabilities, the quality of national leadership, the level of educational and technological achievement, the openness of the political system, the character of the people, transportation and communication capabilities, ideology, and the appeal of a country’s culture (generally referred to as soft power). 2

Economic power is often seen as the foundation of military and political power. It is measured in terms of the  gross national product (GNP)  or the  gross domestic product (GDP) . The GNP measures the total market value of all goods and services produced by resources supplied by the residents and businesses of a particular country, regardless of where those residents and businesses are located. The GDP measures the total market value of all goods and services produced within a country. Military power is often the most visible and impressive manifestation of national power. As we will discuss, a major challenge for great powers is to maintain a balance between economic strength and military might. Too much emphasis on the military often weakens the economy, and ultimately the military itself.

A nation’s strength goes beyond simply possessing the various resources that are sources of power. Countries, like individuals, must be skilled at converting these resources into effective influence.  Power conversion  is defined as the capacity to change potential power, as measured by available resources, into realized power, which is determined by the changed behavior of others. Knowing what resources to use, when, and how will also affect the exercise of power. Certain factors—such as globalization, domestic support for policies, and the willingness of citizens to support activities associated with international primacy—must also be considered.

An important component of power is leadership. Leadership is the ability to persuade others to behave in certain ways, to shape their interests, and to influence their thinking. Leadership implies a capability to get others to cooperate to achieve particular objectives. At the foundation of leadership is the ability to get others to follow. Leadership can be structural, institutional, or situational.  Structural leadership  is derived largely from the control of economic resources, military power, technology, and other sources of power that enable a small group of countries to shape the international system. Structural leadership is often augmented by  institutional leadership ; that is, the ability to determine the rules, principles, procedures, and practices that guide the behavior of members of the global community. Institutions provide order and predictability and allow the dominant power to exercise control. Finally,  situational leadership  is primarily the ability to seize opportunities to build or reorient the global system, apart from the distribution of power and the building of institutions. Often, this kind of leadership is associated with a specific individual.

2.2: The Rise and Fall of Great Powers

1. 2.2 Examine factors that influence the rise and fall of great powers

States generally expand because of threats and opportunities in their international system. States fear power vacuums because rival states are likely to take advantage of their failure to act. Weaker states tend to gravitate toward a rising power and to move away from a declining power. Failure to demonstrate strength causes a bandwagoning effect, which benefits the rising power.  Population pressures  influence the rise of great powers. Population growth puts pressure on available domestic resources. To address this problem, countries will venture across oceans or land boundaries to obtain raw materials, markets for their products, and living space for their people.  Uneven economic growth  enables some countries to enhance their power while other countries decline.

Urbanization has usually been associated with freedom and innovation. Urban areas attract diverse groups of people with differing ideas. They also improve the wealth-generating, administrative, and political capabilities of a rising power. The efficient functioning of great cities depends on a commitment to tolerance, freedom, and trust. These characteristics, in turn, attract more talent, wealth, innovation, and technology to cities. Trust, for example, is essential for commercial transactions as well as for mundane, routine interactions. Cities such as London and Amsterdam attracted refugees from religious intolerance and persecution. During the seventeenth-century religious wars, Protestants and Jews migrated to Amsterdam and other Dutch cities that were more tolerant of religious diversity. 3

Geography is another factor that influences the rise and fall of great powers. Britain and the United States have benefited from their geographic location and, in the case of the United States, its continent-size territory. They are not located in the middle of warring states, and usually refrain from getting involved in other nations’ conflicts until it is to their advantage to do so. They can fight in other countries and avoid destroying their own. Their geography also enables them to concentrate resources on internal consolidation, which ultimately increases their power vis-à-vis other states.

War, which played a crucial role in the formation of nation-states, has been a major factor in the rise and fall of great powers. It usually increases the power of some nations at the detriment of others. Even when countries emerge victorious from war, some are so weakened that the countries that avoid major damage rise to the top. An example is Britain after World War II: It experienced declining power as America’s global dominance grew. Historically, war has been instrumental in strengthening patriotism and nationalism. Historically, Britain went to war against France and Spain to engender cohesion among England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

Many great powers decline because of  hubris  (i.e., excessive pride) and imperial arrogance. They tend to overestimate their power and expand their military power so much that they ultimately erode their economic base. In other words, believing that their power is virtually limitless, they allow a gap to grow between their global ambitions and the resources they have to fulfill those ambitions. This disparity is referred to as the  Lippmann gap  because Walter Lippmann clearly articulated the problem as early as 1943; Paul Kennedy, writing in the late 1980s, referred to this problem as  imperial overstretch . 4  Taking resources away from domestic programs for military activities abroad often leads to the unraveling of domestic political cohesion.

2.3: Strategies for Maintaining Power

1. 2.3 Analyze the case of the United States to highlight strategies adopted by leading powers to maintain their international position

Leading powers, facing challenges from rising countries, adopt several strategies to preserve their position in the international system. Democratic enlargement is a prominent strategy in this effort. Potential challengers are restrained when they internalize the values, beliefs, and norms articulated by the dominant power. The United States, for example, has emphasized spreading democracy. But the dissemination of values and beliefs by great powers does not guarantee indefinite control, a reality that Britain had to face as India and other colonies demanded for themselves the rights enjoyed by people in Britain, including the right to self-government. Great powers also build institutions to legitimize their control. They articulate concepts of an international normative order, concepts that involve principles of order and change within the international system as well as normative claims about the role of the leading power within that order.

Another strategy used to prevent rising powers from creating disorder in the international system is offshore balancing. Following Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, European powers created the  Concert of Europe  to maintain stability by preserving a relatively equal distribution of power among them. The main goal was to prevent one country from gaining so much power that it would dominate the others. Balancing—which basically means opposing the stronger or more threatening side in a conflict—can be achieved through efforts by individual states to strengthen themselves and by building alliances to preserve the balance of power. Closely related to balancing is the strategy of  containment , which attempts to prevent ambitious powers from expanding and destroying order and balance in the international system. When the Soviet Union marched through Eastern Europe and subjugated the countries there, the United States and its European allies responded by implementing a policy of containment.

Binding  and  engagement  are also important state responses to rising powers. The European Union (EU), as we have seen, has its origins in efforts by France and other countries after World War II to avoid the nightmare of another war in Europe by forming economic and political alliances with Germany, which had initiated the conflict. Binding aims at controlling the behavior of the rising or threatening country by embedding it into bilateral or multilateral alliances. By making the rising state a member of the alliance, dominant countries allow it to participate in decisions and to contribute to building the institutions that maintain the status quo. Engagement attempts to minimize conflict with a rising power and to strengthen those aspects of its behavior that are consistent with the status quo and the interests of the great powers. Eventually, the rising power will have too great a stake in preserving the international order to challenge it.

2.3.1: America’s Rise to Dominance

The strength of the U.S. military is unprecedented in the history of great powers. America spends roughly $700 billion annually on its military. That is about 40 percent of global military spending. It spends three times as much on military research and development as the next six powers combined. America’s economic might is also undisputed. With 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States produces about a quarter of the world’s GDP. Its economy is worth approximately $17.1 trillion. That is more than the economies of China, Japan, Germany, and France combined. The United States has a per capita income of around $52,000, compared to $6,000 for China. It has the best universities in the world, and its culture is dominant globally. Culturally, intellectually, scientifically, and politically, America dominates the global system.

America’s emergence as the most powerful country in history was a complex and relatively gradual process. The United States, like previous civilizations, borrowed heavily from others and built on foundations created by others. America, in many ways, was a continuation of British society in the New World. The Pilgrims who arrived in 1620 on the Mayflower at Plymouth in Massachusetts were English people who brought English values and institutions with them. The United States utilized strategies very similar to those used by other great powers to achieve its dominant position. It also benefited from the protection of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and unthreatening neighbors on its borders. The expansion of the United States occurred over land through the acquisition of Native American territories. Similar to other great powers, America relied heavily on military force to expand and consolidate its power. Believing in the concept of  manifest destiny , it eventually expanded its territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The  Mexican-American War  (1846–1848) resulted in America’s acquisition of two-fifths of Mexico’s territory, including California and the present American Southwest, in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which ended the conflict. However, the issue of slavery divided the United States into two warring factions, leading to the bloodiest war in American history. Even so, the American Civil War removed a serious obstacle to the United States’ rise as a great power. In essence, the Civil War forged a common American culture and internal unification.

Internal stability enabled the United States to concentrate on building its economy and broadening its interests. The Civil War produced advancements in American military organization and technologies. However, after the war, the United States demobilized the army, scrapped over half its warships, and allowed the rest to rot. The government declined to remain ahead of other countries in construction of iron-clad steamships. 5  As a continental-size power, the United States remained largely preoccupied with domestic and regional affairs. Furthermore, America believed that it could be “a City on a Hill” and an example to other nations, albeit from a distance and without getting entangled in their problems. This proclivity toward isolationism has always been an essential component of American foreign policy. But isolationism also emanated from the reality that until the late 1880s, America was far behind great powers such as Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy. In fact, when the sultan of Turkey decided to reduce expenses in 1880, he closed Turkey’s diplomatic missions in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States. 6  Yet America’s vast territory, abundant natural resources, spirit of freedom and innovation, ability to attract immigrants and investments, institutional stability, and cultural values contributed to its phenomenal growth in the 1880s. The United States became a leading producer of agricultural products, coal, iron, and steel. Its banking and manufacturing sectors surpassed those of the major countries. By 1890, the United States had decided to strengthen its navy to be competitive with European navies. This development was fueled partly by America’s imperial ambitions, evidenced by its conquest of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam and its increased influence in Cuba and Hawaii as a consequence of its victory in the  Spanish-American War  in 1898. By ending Spain’s declining position in the Americas and the Pacific, the United States established itself as the hegemon of the Western Hemisphere, thereby achieving the objective of the  Monroe Doctrine  of 1823, namely, diminishing European involvement in the Americas.

Reluctantly, America began abandoning its policy of isolationism during World War I in response to dangers of war in Europe and indiscriminate German submarine warfare. President Woodrow Wilson accelerated the construction of military weapons and warships, drafted young men, and trained them to fight. World War I stimulated a rapid growth in the foreign-policy establishment and brought out a strong American commitment to free trade, the promotion of democracy, support for national self-determination, and an emphasis on international cooperation to achieve world peace through organizations such as the  League of Nations . American power was applied to protect its growing interests abroad. The United States’ rise to global prominence meant that it could no longer avoid entanglement in European affairs, a reality made clearer by World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, even before Japan bombed the American fleet at  Pearl Harbor  on December 7, 1941, expressed an urgent need to strengthen the military. He created the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and a two-ocean navy in 1940. The military draft was reinstated, military cooperation with Britain was enhanced, and military assistance was extended to Britain, the Soviet Union, and China. America’s entry into World War II unleashed unprecedented military growth. By the end of the war, the United States was indisputably the dominant global power. But the Soviet Union, especially after it acquired intercontinental nuclear weapons, also gained superpower status. As  Table 2.1  shows, the major European powers and Japan, destroyed by war, declined.  Figure 2.1  demonstrates the global reach of America’s military power.

America’s hegemony or primacy rests not only on its dominant power but also on its ability to legitimize that power by making it acceptable to potential challengers in particular and members of the global community in general. Cooperation, integration, and multilateralism became cornerstones of the American-led postwar order. Certain institutions—such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade—benefited most countries and induced them to accept American leadership. Institutionalization and increasing globalization meant that the United States and other countries would be constrained to varying degrees and would embrace multilateralism and cooperation instead of unilateralism. As the global leader, America would play a major role in providing collective benefits or  public goods  (i.e., services such as security, stability, open markets, and economic opportunities). By doing so, the United States would minimize the possibility of envy and resentment that could escalate into the fear and loathing that spawn hostile alliances designed to balance power. 7

Table 2.1 Great Powers from 1495 to Present

Period	Great Powers
1495–1521	France, England, Austrian Hapsburgs, Spain, Ottoman Empire, Portugal
1604–1618	France, England, Austria, Spain, Ottoman Empire, Holland, Sweden
1648–1702	France, England, Austrian Hapsburgs, Spain, Ottoman Empire, Holland, Sweden
1713–1792	France, Great Britain, Austrian Hapsburgs, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Prussia
1815–1914	France, Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Prussia/Germany, Italy, United States, Japan
1919–1939	France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan
1945–1989	Soviet Union, United States
1989–present	United States

2.4: Challenging American Hegemony

1. 2.4 Evaluate the political, economic, and military backdrop that engendered competitive relations between the US and China

Combined with what many countries viewed as unilateralism, U.S. military superiority deepened fissures between America and other countries such as France, Germany, Russia, and China. Instead of being perceived as promoting the global welfare, American foreign policy was increasingly seen as being preoccupied with narrowly defined American interests. Instead of consulting, Washington was perceived to be issuing demands and ultimatums. America’s preference for a unipolar system and American global hegemony threatened other great powers, most of which favored a multipolar system. This section discusses the principal challenges to American power.

2.4.1: China

China has been one of the world’s leading powers for at least four thousand years. China was once far superior to Western Europe in virtually every human endeavor. These historical achievements reinforce China’s self-perception as a great power. China’s many contributions to human civilization, its population of more than 1.3 billion, its rapid economic growth, and the spread of its culture across continents combine to strengthen its view that it is entitled to play a major role in world affairs. Just as an individual’s identity helps influence his or her perception of his or her role in the world, a nation’s identity is crucial in its determination of its global status. China’s identity is that of a great power. China has traditionally emphasized

Figure 2.1 Location of U.S. Military Forces

Figure 2.1 Full Alternative Text

THE BUILDING OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN AFRICA, LIKE THIS LIGHT RAIL NETWORK BEING BUILT IN ADDIS ABABA BY A CHINESE COMPANY, IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROMOTING TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT.

protecting its borders, fostering domestic integration and stability, and reducing regional threats.

But China is now widely viewed as a major challenger to America’s dominance of the global system. It is using its financial power to acquire companies and gain access to much-needed natural resources. To obtain these resources, Chinese companies are forming partnerships and joint ventures in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. China has established strong economic ties with oil-producing countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. As the United States became preoccupied with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting global terrorism, and preventing nuclear proliferation in Iran and Korea, China strengthened its navy and increased its defense spending. Both China’s perception of its growing global power and America’s perception of the loss of its dominant position in the international system, heightened by the global financial and economic crisis, combine to engender antagonistic relations between the two countries. Each country perceives the other as a threat to its power and ambitions.

China’s economic growth has been spectacular since it implemented far-reaching economic reforms and improved relations with the United States in the 1970s. The economy has consistently grown by around 10 percent a year, even during periods when the American economy experienced recession. Even when most of the industrialized world experienced a severe economic recession due to the financial crisis, China’s economic growth was roughly 7.2 percent. China’s economic growth was spurred by deliberate and often draconian policies to reduce population growth, by the adoption of the free market, by increased privatization of the economy, by promotion of entrepreneurship, and by efforts to attract foreign investments through the creation of special enterprise zones. China has roughly $2.6 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. It overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. It has vast dollar reserves and holds 22 percent of America’s treasury debt. In other words, America is indebted to China.

Companies from around the world established subsidiaries in China to take advantage of low production costs as well as the growing Chinese market. Despite strained relations with Taiwan, which China claims to be part of its territory, many Taiwanese engineers and high-technology companies have moved to China to take advantage of business opportunities. China’s own engineering and technological schools and universities are producing experts in information technology. China’s economic might also enables it to convince leading global companies to transfer advanced technologies to it. Such advantages in technology improve China’s economic competitiveness as well as its military capabilities. Faced with declining exports due to the global recession, China focused on increasing domestic investing and consumer spending.

Although largely preoccupied with regional security, especially the significant U.S. military presence in the area, China developed nuclear weapons as a deterrent to threats from the Soviet Union and the United States. In addition to acquiring advanced Russian military technology, China is making a concerted effort to build a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines that can launch 

2.5: Threats to U.S. Power: Emerging Powers and Nonstate Actors

1. 2.5 Examine the internal, external, and nonstate threats to America’s leadership

Emerging market economy countries pose challenges to America’s leadership and are diffusing power in the international system. Ian Bremmer and Nouriel Roubini argue that the global financial crisis and the economic recession sent a much larger shock wave through the international system than anything that followed the collapse of the Soviet bloc. 8  Combined with other forces of globalization discussed in  Chapter 1 , these developments have further eroded the potency of military might and have enhanced economic power. Emerging market economies such as China, India, and Brazil are posing challenges to American dominance. Confident of their growing economic power, these countries are changing what they perceive to be an outmoded world order established by the United States and Western Europe. The diffusion of power is demonstrated by the transition of power from the G-7 (group of leading industrial countries) to the G-20, a group composed of the world’s largest economies, including emerging market countries.

When faced with overwhelming power, represented by the giant Goliath, the Israelites employed a boy, David, with a slingshot to counteract that power. In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the Lilliputians are able to restrain the giant through cooperation. These stories illustrate the paradox of being a superpower. Instead of using conventional weapons to engage a country that possesses overwhelming power, the weak usually confront the strong in unorthodox ways. Suicide bombings by terrorist organizations challenge America’s military and economic power. The United States is fighting its longest war against terrorist groups. This strategy of counteracting the dominant power of a hegemon is called  asymmetrical warfare . It enables the weaker side to gain military advantages and level the playing field to some extent by using comparatively unsophisticated weapons and strategies. Joseph Nye argues that for all the fashionable predictions of China surpassing the United States, the greatest threat may come from nonstate actors. In an information-based world, power diffusion may pose a bigger danger than power transition. 9

2.5.1: Domestic Threats to American Hegemony

Empires decline not only because of challenges from rising powers but also because of decisions made by their leaders and the general attitudes and beliefs of ordinary citizens. In other words, empires are usually their own worst enemy. More important than what others do to them, often what they do to themselves is what ultimately hastens their fall.

The collapse of the financial system created by the United States and the accompanying global economic recession eroded global confidence in America’s leadership. America’s access to easy credit and its failure to effectively regulate the financial system covered up many fundamental weaknesses. The manufacturing sector declined, and many of its high school graduates were unprepared to compete effectively in a global economy. In many ways, America’s policies contributed to its relative decline. America became the world’s biggest borrower, and its budget deficits continue to escalate. America seemed to lack the fiscal and political discipline necessary to rein in its debt. For the first time in its history, America’s triple-A credit rating was downgraded to a double-A-plus rating by Standard and Poor’s. This development reinforced global perceptions of America’s relative decline and influenced China, which holds more than $1.3 trillion of U.S. debt, to advocate replacing the U.S. dollar with a new reserve currency. Niall Ferguson argues that most dominant countries fall due to fiscal crises. 10  The inability of the legislative and executive branches of government to work together pushed America dangerously close to defaulting. This further shattered global confidence in America’s leadership. 11  Extreme economic, political, and social inequality, and growing barriers to upward mobility and achievement of the American Dream, discussed in Chapter 9, seriously challenge America’s global leadership.

Most Americans support a volunteer army, one composed of people who generally come from less-privileged economic backgrounds. The country as a whole has demonstrated a low tolerance for combat fatalities and long-term military involvement in dangerous regions. Americans remain primarily concerned with economic issues and the implications of economic globalization. They have constantly viewed economic rather than military power as the more important determinant of global dominance. However, their own financial problems, political stalemate and extreme partisanship, and failure to reduce the budget deficit are undermining America’s economic power and strengthening calls for U.S. retrenchment and a sharper focus on narrower national security interests.

2.5.2: Will the United States Remain the Dominant Power?

As American troops marched across Iraq and U.S. planes and ships bombed Baghdad to effectuate what the Pentagon called “shock and awe,” the rest of the world watched the most awesome military force it has ever known unilaterally impose its will on another country. America clearly demonstrated that it is a hegemon with a preponderance of power. On the other hand, some scholars, such as Paul Kennedy, caution that overwhelming power often leads a country to engage in imperial overstretch or to expand its interests and obligations to such a great degree that it overburdens its resource base and is unable to defend all of its interests simultaneously. 12  America’s difficulties in Iraq made this obvious. Another concern was America’s emphasis on unilateralism. Stanley Hoffmann, a leading scholar of international relations, argued that there is nothing more dangerous for a hyperpower than the temptation of unilateralism. It may well believe that the constraints of international agreements and organizations are not necessary. But those constraints provide for better opportunities for leadership than does the arrogant demonstration of contempt for the behavior of other states. 13  The danger for the United States, it is argued, is that its unprecedented power is likely to influence it to become insensitive to other nations’ fear and interests. Great powers often succumb to hubris. This hubris often leads the dominant nation to believe that it is a benevolent hegemon and that it is immunized from a backlash against its preponderance by the attractiveness of its ideology and culture. But because states are competitive and worry about the predominant country’s capabilities, they are likely to coalesce against what they perceive to be a threat. On the other hand, rising powers now accept the realities of globalization. They strive to increase their power within the existing global framework.

Many scholars argue that discussions of America’s decline are routine and wrong and that the country is likely to remain the dominant power for the foreseeable future. Samuel P. Huntington, for example, identified five waves of declinism that turned out to be wrong. The first wave occurred with the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets in 1957. The second wave was at the end of the 1960s, when the United States and the Soviet Union were perceived to be losing to rising economic powers such as Japan and Western Europe. The third wave came with the oil embargo by the  Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)  in 1973. The fourth wave was marked by America’s defeat in Vietnam, the Watergate crisis that undermined public confidence in U.S. government and institutions, and the upsurge in Soviet-Cuban expansion

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND FREEDOM ARE INCREASING AS A RESULT OF GROWTH IN CHINA. A dispute over censorship at a Chinese newspaper in Guangdong province resulted in protestors gathering. This woman’s mask has words referring to free speech.

in Angola, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. Finally, the fifth wave came in the late 1980s as a result of growing U.S. trade and budget deficits and Japan’s economic might. 14  All of these waves subsided, leaving the United States as a dominant power.

Huntington and Joseph S. Nye contend that the United States will remain the dominant power. Huntington states that the ultimate test of a great power is its ability to renew itself and that the United States meets this test to a far greater extent than past or present great powers. The forces of renewal are competition, mobility, and immigration. Furthermore, America’s strength is multidimensional, meaning that it is based on military might, economic power, technological capabilities, cultural appeal, political leadership and influence in international institutions, an abundance of natural resources, and social cohesion and political stability at home. Nye argues that the American problem is different from that of Britain, which faced challenges from a rising Germany and the United States itself. Instead, the United States will remain the dominant power but will have to cope with unprecedented problems of globalization that cannot be solved unilaterally. In Nye’s view, the problem of American power in the twenty-first century is not one of decline, but what to do in light of the realization that even the largest country cannot achieve the outcomes it wants without the help of others. 15

Case Study Challenges Facing China

Discussions of China’s rapid economic growth and its challenge to the United States for global leadership generally ignore not only the uncertainty of the future but also real and predictable problems confronting China. For example, natural disasters, as we will see in the case of Japan, can derail economic plans and have severe social and political consequences. China routinely suffers from earthquakes, destructive floods, and other natural disasters. Generational change and the forces of globalization are undermining authoritarian governments. China has managed to retain Communist control during a period of unprecedented economic growth. Growth also engenders conditions that empower individuals to seek more autonomy, freedom, and political participation. The challenge facing China is how to manage a transition to a more democratic society without creating domestic instability.

China’s power is largely one-dimensional. Its economic power is not combined with military and political power, especially when compared with the United States. China’s overall power is not a potent force globally. In general, China has a deficit of soft power, a key ingredient in the rise of great powers. Soft power is the ability to attract and to be admired by others. Unlike the United States, China is not a universal or global nation that is composed of immigrants from every corner of the earth. How does a Scandinavian, a Nigerian, or an Indian become Chinese? Excessive pollution discourages the migration of highly talented individuals from around the world. Many talented Chinese are leaving due to China’s dangerously unhealthy environment. They believe that they would be better off elsewhere. Nor does China’s political and social system provide the freedom that is essential for cultivating sustained creativity and innovation. China’s failure to attract large numbers of immigrants is compounded by its demographic deterioration, caused partly by its one-child policy. China has a subreplacement fertility rate and will experience an explosive growth of older people. Addressing the needs of an elderly population will exert great pressure on the country’s resources and impede both economic growth and military power.

Conflicts with China’s neighbors, especially India and Japan, complicate China’s rise to global leadership. Neighboring countries are likely to form alliances or to coordinate actions to counteract Chinese power if they perceive China as a threat. China will therefore have to allocate significant resources to resolving various conflicts and managing regional affairs. India, with its own global ambitions, will balance China’s power. Numerous conflicts exist between the two countries. There are also longstanding border disputes, disagreements about Tibet and Kashmir, and conflicts over China’s construction of huge dams in Tibet that could divert water from rivers flowing into India. Disputes between China and Japan over islands in the East China Sea known as the Diaoyu in China and the Senkakusin in Japan have influenced Japan to increase defense spending. Furthermore, the United States, as a Pacific power, has strengthened military, economic, and political ties with countries in the region. China also faces economic competition from other low-cost manufacturing countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Rising standards of living and demands for higher wages will diminish China’s competitive advantage. China can resolve many of these challenges by accepting its global political responsibilities and working largely within the framework of established global institutions even as it seeks to modify them to reflect its growing power and that of emerging economic powers. By developing strong economic and political ties with its neighbors and maintaining a strong but not threatening military, China can reduce tensions and decrease chances of other countries forming alliances to balance against it. Power tends to breed hubris, and hubris often leads to unnecessary conflicts, as we will see in the case of the United States. If China can avoid the arrogance of power, its rise will be perceived as less of a threat.

Summary

This chapter examined the rise and fall of great powers and the essential role of politics, economics, and culture in that process. Countries with strong economies and well-managed political systems are able to spread their culture globally and to exercise power over other states. A state, or in some cases a small group of states, that has extraordinary influence over the behavior of other states is said to have international primacy. States that enjoy international primacy are generally said to have diverse interests. When several great powers are in the international system, it is defined as being multipolar. During the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union were superpowers, the system was bipolar. Today, the United States remains the dominant country in an increasingly multipolar world that is characterized by the diffusion of power.

States and groups of states become powerful and lose their power for many reasons. War is one major factor. Although investing in military power can help turn a state into a great power, it can also lead to its fall as a great nation. Many great powers decline because of hubris, or excessive pride, and imperial arrogance. These nations tend to overestimate their power and expand their military power so much that they ultimately erode their economic base. We discussed some challenges to the United States. Some of these challenges come from nations that are quickly advancing economically, such as China, India, and Brazil. We discussed the challenge to American power from nonstate actors, such as terrorist organizations, that try to undermine the strength of great nations. Finally, we examined how America’s domestic problems, especially its growing budget deficits, threaten American power.

iscussion Questions

1. Economic power and military power are often discussed as the two most important factors that make up a great power. What are some other elements of power? How might they contribute to a nation’s rise to superpower status?

2. What are the three types of leadership? Provide some examples of how the United States and past world powers have exercised these types of leadership.

3. What are some strategies for maintaining power and preventing rising powers from creating disorder in the international system? Provide some examples of countries that have used some of these strategies.

4. What are some current examples of challenges to American hegemony? What are the strongest challenges the United States faces to maintain its status as a great power? Explain.

5. Does China pose a major threat to the United States? How can U.S.-China relations be managed in light of increased competition?