The most prominent nation that proficiently epitomizes the paradigm of industrialization and the interrelated relationship with global power is the Kingdom of Great Britain. Instigated in 1750, the Industrial Revolution transpired within Great Britain offering innumerable advantages to the empire and bolstering its political and economic influence. Industrialization lucidly affected economic development within the nation, as well as aided global economic regulation by the nation. Agriculture was the foremost catalyst of the industrial revolution, for it supplied the tremendous quantity of laborers needed in order to accommodate the recently initiated prospect of factories and mass production. As well as the fact that it augmented the production of raw materials for the exploitation of the domestic system. Consequently, trading thrived throughout the nation due to the increased production of goods due to the availability of resources. The aforementioned expansion of factory systems also amplified the production of goods due to the prospect of mass production, thus facilitating economic prosperity within the nation. Subsequent to abolishing the French Empire and the immense defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Great Britain became virtually unrivaled by any other nation or empire with regards to economic trade routes.
As a consequence of economic prosperity due to rapid industrialization, the political influence of Great Britain was also supplemented by the established economic affluence. Primarily, political power was manifested within the various colonies occupied by Great Britain, sustaining the economic and political integrity of the nation through offering natural resources as well as market places that enabled the enlargement of promoting goods to other nations. With this newly acquired political and economic influence, the era of colonization metamorphosed in to the era of Imperialism. Imperialist ideology was immensely endorsed by the industrialization due to the fact that the prerequisites of the industrial revolution in the form of natural resources coerced nations to adopt colonies. As well as the fact that the enabling dynamics of the Imperialist age comprised of European military supremacy, improvements in transportation, and medical advances, were rendered feasible due to the industrial age. This is due to the fact that industrialization catalyzed the development of technological advancements, most notably in the field of militant technology in the form of the machine gun. As well as the fact that economic affluence of Great Britain engendered the development of the medicinal field in order to safeguard the populace of the nation during expeditions. The aforementioned forms of supremacy remain evident within the modern world with the United Kingdom controlling fifty-four commonwealth nations, as well as attaining a permanent position within the United Nations Security Council. In addition to economic and political influence, The United kingdom enjoys social prosperity within the nation with and Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.863 out of a maximum of 1. Therefore, it is apparent that the enabling factors of political, economic, and military preeminence are encompassed within the prospect of industrialization.
Another prominent nation that has risen to power through the extensive exploitation of industrialization is the United States of America. Merely two hundred years of age, the United States has amassed political, economic, and military ascendancy within the global environment in a remarkably infinitesimal amount of time. Subsequent to the industrialization of Great Britain, the United States adopted the prospect of industrialization and successfully augmented its political and economic authority. Prior to the collapse of the League of Nations, the United States played and integral role within the events of WWI and WII, aiding the allied nations against the expeditiously arising nation of Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler. Industrialization also aided the development of the most powerful military weapons produced by mankind, the nuclear weapon. Instigated in 1939, the development of a nuclear arsenal was endorsed by president Franklin Roosevelt in order to circumvent the prospect of Nazi Germany constructing a nuclear weapon throughout the course of the First World War. In 1942, The United States Army attained control over the project, later know as the Manhattan Project. In 2010, the Obama administration revealed the size of the United States Nuclear Arsenal to be comprised of 5,113 nuclear warheads, rivaled only by the Russian Federation with an approximated 8,000 nuclear warheads.
Consequently, the United States has been able to dictate global politics through the United Nations entity due to the fact that the United States possesses a permanent seat within the Untied Nations Security Council, the governing body of the organization. Thus through this principal authority, the United States retains the right to revoke any suggestions offered to the Security Council, in effect offering an infallible status to the nation within the entity. Other indications as to the political significance of the Untied States is the ubiquitous negotiations and diverging interests of the permanent members of the Security Council and Non Nuclear Weapon states that have failed to ratify the Non Proliferation Treaty. The Non Proliferation Treaty is acknowledged as the primary treaty that addresses the matter of nuclear proliferation and the menace manifested within the adoption of the nuclear technology directed towards nuclear proliferation. Negotiations with member states that have failed to ratify the treaty have been conducted by the foremost industrialized nations throughout the world incorporating the states of China, Russia, United Kingdom, France, United States, and Germany. The United States is also the only Non – European member state, along with Canada, within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Comprehending 28 nations, the NATO is recognized by the United Nations and thus is extensively involved within global politics and world decisions.
However, the United States has proficiently acquired another political tool that augments the stature of the nation within global politics, the prospect of soft power. Harvard University professor Joseph Nye coined the term soft power in his 2004 book Soft Power. The concept entails the power of inducement possessed by a nation, rather than the power of coercion or compelling force, an aspect that is effusively exploited by the United States. The profuse economic opportunities offered within the United States due to astronomical levels of industrialization within the nation serve as an enticement to innovators from various fields to pursue occupations within the United States. Consequently, the United States has been capable of comprehensively enhancing the technological industry existent within the nation, thus developing the economic integrity as well as the military dominance of the nation. Currently, the United States enjoys exceeding levels of industrial output, ranking as the second largest nation in terms of industrial output. Others methods that implement the concept of soft power are encompassed within the remarkably copious nuclear arsenal under United States control. However the said arsenal serves as a nuclear deterrent, therefore the prospect of using the said weapons is highly implausible.
Conversely, the theory proposed throughout this essay may only be determined viable during the existence of unipolar world. The concept of polarity within International Relations pertains to the manner in which authority and power is designated within the international arena. A unipolar system involves one state that can influence other nations politically, economically, and culturally. Throughout the reign of Great Britain from 1815 - 1914, Britain exercised tremendous influence over the international community, governing the principal of economic trade routes, enjoying a powerful military in the form of the British Navy, and culturally manipulating other nations culturally through the multitude of colonies under the imperative of Britain. Yet this case does not apply today due to the concept of globalization and the interlaced nature of the global economy, thus no single nation can control global affairs. However, the fact of the interlaced economic relationship of the international arena does not mean that the United States may not exercise political, economic, and militant influence upon other nations. This is evident through the Unites States status within the United Nations Security Council and the NATO, as well as the tremendous economic prosperity existent within the nation due to industrialization.
In culmination, it is ostensible that industrialization directly affects the balance of power within the international arena due to the fact that it facilitates the economic, political, and militant development of nations. Thus creating an unequal distribution of power amongst nations as well as within international affairs.
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