Firstly many superpowers exert their influence through military power; today military power means access to nuclear weapons, however the development of different technologies such as satellite technology is becoming an important issue. For example the USA has drastically exerted their military influence. They had the largest nuclear arsenal for some part of the cold war; they have very powerful military personnel in Western Europe and have their own global intelligence network: the CIA. The USA has worldwide spread military bases, although most of these are found in the USA, they do have bases that cover most of Europe, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Whilst having bases in these areas can have a positive impact, in places such as Afghanistan if they fall out it can increase the influence of terrorist attacks on the country. Despite some of the perceived threats, it is obvious that by having military bases in a number of MEDC’S the USA’s military has had a big influence worldwide.
Secondly Superpowers can exert their influence through cultural power. This includes exerting influence through the media to spread culture and change the way people behave and think. For example the British Empire has exerted its influence through the widespread use of the English Language, the drinking of tea and playing cricket. Today the most influential culture is that of the USA which is know referred to as ‘Americanisation.’ It’s the globalisation of American businesses and technology such as Disney that has had a huge impact on influencing other countries such as the UK. However not all cultural influences have a positive impact as seen with the idea of capitalism in America. An economic system in which property is privately owned and goods are privately produced may not be highly agreed with countries such as Asia and South Africa but it’s the huge influence it has on globalisation that is making it more and more popular.
Geographical power is the third way that superpowers exert their influence. Geographical power refers to the sphere of influence a superpower has, the larger the land mass the more power they possess. Russia has an area of 17,098,242 km squared, making it the biggest country in the world. Geographical power can also be influenced by a physical or cultural factor, for example Britain has gave many countries our language.
Finally economic power is another way superpowers exert their influence. Wealth is what allows countries to export their power around the world, buy resources and influence trade patterns. Economic power is in hindsight the most important as it is needed to maintain military power, spread cultural influence through places such as the media and provide geographical reach. Both the Soviet Union and the USA exerted a lot of influence through their economic power by aid and trade. The Soviet Union was the second largest economy due to the massive energy resources they had, resulting in them bringing in a lot of money. Similarly, the USA came to be the world’s most economically powered country due to extensive amount of energy resources they had; but not without the help of the large resources of metals and timber that allowed them to make large quantities of money. The bigger the income the more significant influence there is over global economies, which is how the US dollar ($), the Euro (€) and the Pound (£) came to be the 3 global power currency’s.
There are many ways a superpower can exert their influence. Although it may be argued that a country is not a superpower until it possesses all four influences, it is clear that each way can individually exert a massive influence worldwide.
