Great power

The Great Powers are usually taken to be those nations or states that, through their great economic, political and military strength, are able to exert power over world diplomacy. Their opinions must be taken into account by other nations before taking diplomatic or military action. Characteristically, they have the ability to intervene militarily almost anywhere, and they also have soft, cultural power, often in the form of economic investment in less developed portions of the world.

Commentators give varying opinions on exactly which nations constitute a great power. Some include China, India, and maybe the EU An explanation of the concept of Great powers however there is also an alternative view that the rising interdependency between the world's nations has made the concept of a superpower obsolete and that the world is now multipolar. There is considerable debate over the power and influence. If the member states were combined it would presumably be a superpower. However, most commentators agree that the EU, lacking the political unification of a sovereign state, cannot therefore be a superpower or power of any kind. The UN Security Council nations (excluding the USA), namely the UK, France, China and Russia, are all normally considered Great powers.

The United States of America is also considered to be a superpower.

Criteria

Though criteria can vary, the following criteria are usually included Hegemony, liberalism and global order: what space for would-be great powers? Hurrell, Andrew; 2006; International Affairs 82 (1); pp1-19; Accessed May 22 2006 (Subscription or one off payment of 19p required) :
* The capacity to contribute to the international order
* Internal cohesion to allow for effective state action
* Economic power, such as high levels of economic growth or a large market
* Military power, with the ability to compete with other dominant powers in a conventional war

History

Different sets of Great Powers have existed in history, but after 1815, the Concert of Europe formalized France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia as the five powers. Of these, the first three had colonial empires outside Europe. Austria was called an empire in a former sense, that of a monarch ruling over several kingdoms. Prussia was a newcomer, rising through Frederick the Great's militaristic grand strategy. Upon the unification of Italy and Germany, they were accepted as Great Powers - Germany as a continuation of Prussia. After the First World War, at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 four Great Powers were readily recognised: the British Empire (including its Dominions), the United States, France and Italy. The status of Japan requires qualification. They were not part of the Big Four, but were accorded two votes like the Big Four. Their position was highlighted by their race equality proposal, which touched on a number of issues including their status as a Great Power. Although this proposal was defeated as first the British and then the Americans caved into the Australian defence of the White Australia Policy, their successful retention of Shandong and the German islands in the Pacific north of the equator indicated that they had attained the position of a non-white Great Power. Again, after the Second World War in 1945, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and the Republic of China were formalised as the five powers with permanent seats and veto power in the UN Security Council. Clearly, shifts in great power status tend to follow wars.

Great powers are also often associated with the projection of military power through a particular technology, such as Dreadnoughts or nuclear weapons. A mere large, defensive infantry army, such as the Chinese would have been able to raise during the age of European dominance is not able to project power overseas. Even the U.S. Army and its blockading navy during the Civil War was insufficient at a time when the United States did not have armored ocean-going battleships. Wealth could be a military factor. Britain could not raise a large army quickly, but was able to fund allies to raise them for it during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Congress of Berlin, a peace treaty to a comparatively minor war, included Turkey and Italy at the status of those mentioned in the Concert of Europe. International meetings, which developed during the second half of the nineteenth century, also serve to indicate Great Power status in the absence of peace treaties after wars, such as the different Berlin Conference.

By the end of the Cold War and the era of globalization other nations began to attain international recognition as great powers, India is an example of this after its economic boom in the 90s.

Since the end of the World Wars, the term Great Power has been split up into a number of definite categories. The term Superpower was used to define a nation with overwhelming power over the rest of the world, this term was initially used to describe the United States and Soviet Union. The term Major power (or sometimes Global Power) has also been used to describe nations with great power, yet not as overwhelming as that of a superpower. This system forms a type of hierarchy for powerful nations.

Great powers through modern history

Since around the year 1750 the world has become more globalized and most Great powers have had a certain amount of influence over the rest of the world. Prior to the 21st century this power was mostly exerted by colonial powers, or powers that had explored and established states in other continents. However, since the World Wars the geopolitical landscape has greatly changed. The emergence of new technologies also mean that soft power can be exerted over other regions easily.

After World War II, a number of changes in power were seen. The powers of Germany, Italy and Japan was greatly reduced and most of Europe was affected adversely by the war. In the aftermath of the war, Great powers has often been used to refer to nations who have strong power projection yet are not as strong as a superpower (a term used to describe the United States).

It is now generally accepted that the term Great power also applies to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Japan, and Russia. The European powers of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy lost much of their political influence after the World Wars. However, all four of these nations managed to rebuild their economy and increase their power projection. There is debate on whether Italy should be included as a Great power as it meets some of the common characteristics of the other powers.

Japan also comes into the same category as Italy and Germany, after being devastated because of the Second World War, Japan steadily rebuilt its economy and managed to reach the status of a Great power. Japan also has built a strong high-tech manufacturing industry. The other Asian powers, China and India, are emerging superpowers and have developed a quickly growing economy.

Russia is considered by some as a declining power and by others as a rising one. It was the most prominent of the 15 Soviet Republics, and is the legal successor state to the Soviet Union, inheriting many of its superpower capabilities. Although Russia initially reliquished some of its power as the nation fell into disarray following the USSR's dissolution, it has since undergone significant recovery and has considerable influence over the world today through its military, geographical position, demographics, resources and economy.|Great Powers throughout Modern History''

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Country	Dates	Rise	Downfall! Notes
Austria/ Austria-Hungary	1526-1918	Battle of Mohács (1687)	World War One	Under the Habsburg Monarchy.
Canada	1970s-present	economic power, G7 nation
China	1368-1842, 1978-present	The founding of the Ming Dynasty. Economic explosion and Military strength.	The First Opium War (1842)	Under the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Today under People's Republic of China
England/ Great Britain/ United Kingdom	1688-present	The Glorious Revolution (1688), economic power, G7 nation		Under, William III of Orange, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Windsor, and the British Parliament. Empire created by, The Royal Navy, British Army.
France	1214-present	The Battle of Bouvines (1214), The Battle of Castillon (1453), economic power, G7 nation	Under the Capetian Dynasty, Valois Dynasty, the House of Bourbon, Napoleon, Napoleon III, and multiple French republics.
Germany	1871-1918, 1933-1945, 1970s-present	Franco-Prussian War (1871), Rule of Nazism (1933-1945), Economic miracle (1970s) & economic power, G7 nation (starting in Western Germany, then continuing after the reunification)	World War I, World War II; NA since 1991	Under Hohenzollern Dynasty, as Republic of Weimar, Hitler, and now a republic.
Holy Roman Empire	955-1618	Battle of Lechfeld	Defenestrations of Prague / Thirty Years' War	Under Carolingian Dynasty, Ottonian Dynasty, Salian Dynasty, Hohenstaufen Dynasty and Habsburg Dynasty
Italy	1861-1945, 1970s-present	Italian Unification, Economic miracle (1970s) & economic power, G7 nation	World War II	Under Savoy Monarchy and later Mussolini
Japan	1905-1945, 1970s-present	Russo-Japanese War, economic power, G7 nation	Military destruction by the USA during World War II	Slumped post-World War II, but recovered by 1970s.
The Mughal Empire	1526-1739	Invasion of India	Invasion of the British and the East India Company	Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan
The Netherlands	1579-1795	Union of Utrecht	Batavian revolution	-
The Ottoman Empire	1453-1918	Conquest of Constantinople	World War One	Under Ottoman Dynasty
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	1466-1700	Peace of Torun	Beginning of Northern War	Personal union 1385-1569. Single state after 1569 (Union of Lublin)Under Jagiellonian Dynasty and elected kings.
Prussia	1763-1871	Seven Years' War	German Unification	Under Hohenzollern Dynasty; can be said to be directly succeeded by German power
Russia	1721-1917 (Russian Empire), 1991-present (Russian Federation)	The Great Northern War	-	Under Romanov Dynasty (Russian Empire), now a federation and the formal successor state to the USSR; current power from military strength, UN veto, extensive resources, possession of a vast nuclear stockpile, advanced military and space scientific/technological capabilities
The Soviet Union	1945-1991	World War II	Dissolved in 1991 by the leadership of Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus	Under Communism, consisted of 15 Soviet Republics; military strength, diplomatic influence, large industrial output, extensive resources, possession of a vast nuclear stockpile, advanced military and space scientific/technological capabilities
Spain	1469-1898	Unification of Spain	Spanish-American War	Under Trastámara, Hapsburg and Bourbon Dynasties
Sweden	1611-1721	The Ingrian War	The Great Northern War	Partly made possible by the production of iron and steel.
United States	1898-Present	Spanish-American War	-	Economic power, G7 nation, scientific leadership, and military strength

Great powers in the pre-modern age (pre-1500 CE)

Africa

|Great Powers throughout pre-Modern History''

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Country	Dates	Rise	Downfall! Notes
Ancient Egypt	3000 BCE-1070 BCE	End of the Protodynastyic Period	The death of Ramesses XI, resulting in centuries of foreign rule and domination
Kingdom of Aksum	100 BC-630 AD	End of the Proto-Aksumite period	Rise of Islam, moving of the capital from Axum, loss of trade.	Called one of the 4 greatest empires in the world by Mani (mid 3rd century), conquered Meroe.

East Asia

|Great Powers throughout pre=Modern History''

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Country	Dates	Rise	Downfall! Notes
Qin Dynasty	221-207 BCE	The founding of the Qin Dynasty	The death of Qin Shi Huang, China's first Emperor	First unification of China
Han Dynasty	202 BCE-220 CE	The coronation of Emperor Gaozu	The abdication of Emperor Xian	Ruled China; dynastic interruption from CE 9-24 by Wang Mang
Sui Dynasty	581-618	Emperor Wen seizes control of northern and southern China	The overthrow of Emperor Gong	Ruled China
Tang Dynasty	618-907	The overthrow of Emperor Gong	The overthrow of Emperor Ai	Ruled China; interrupted by Empress Wu from 690-705
Song Dynasty	960-1276	Emperor Taizu reunifies northern and southern China	Kublai Khan seizes the Song capital, Hangzhou	Ruled China; territory diminished to Southern China
Jin Dynasty	1127-1234	The sack of Kaifeng, the Song Dynasty's first capital	Conquest by Ogedei Khan	Ruled Northern China and Manchuria
Mongolian Empire	1214-1340 est.	Genghis Khan defeats and receives tribute from the Jin Dynasty	The Black Death, decline of the Silk Road and communication networks	Directly ruled territory from Korea and Vietnam to the Vistula River and Mesopotamia; the empire's component states of Yuan China, the Ilkhanate, the Golden Horde, and the Chagatai Khanate continued as completely independent states.
Yuan Dynasty	1271-1369	Kublai Khan receives the title of the Emperor of China	Ming conquest of Shangdu	Self-governing part of the Mongol Empire; the Yuan continued to rule Mongolia after its grip on China slipped.
Ming Dynasty	1369-1644	Expulsion of the Yuan from China	Qing conquest of Beijing	Ruled China; the Ming did not completely collapse until 1662

Europe

|Great Powers throughout Modern History''

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Country	Dates	Rise	Downfall! Notes
The Urartian Empire (Asia)	1000 BCE (or earlier)-585 BCE	When King Ispuini (ca. 820-800 BCE) annexed the neighbouring state of Musasir and made his son Sarduri II viceroy. His successor Menua (ca. 800-785 BCE) also enlarged the kingdom greatly and left inscriptions over a wide area. Argishtish I (ca. 785-760 BCE) added more territories along the Araxes river and Lake Erivan.	Conquered by the Medes in 612 BCE.	At its height, ruled all of present-day eastern Turkey, all of present-day Armenia, and parts of Syria, Iran, and Georgia.
The Carthaginian Empire	575 BCE-202 BCE	The fall of Tyre to the Assyrians, which let Carthage assume leadership of the Phoenician colonies	The Battle of Zama	Ruled much of the coasts of modern Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Spain; also ruled Corsica, Sardinia, and Western Sicily
Alexander's Empire	336 BCE-323 BCE	Submission of most of the Greek City-States to Alexander	Death of Alexander the Great	Ruled an area from Greece and Cyrenaica to the Indus River; though the empire was theoretically still united after Alexander's death, generals seized control of its pieces, which later became Ptolemaic Egypt, Macedon, and the Seleucid Empire.
Macedon	272 BCE-197 BCE	The death of Pyrrhus at Argos	The Battle of Cynoscephalae	Under the Antigonid Dynasty; ruled directly and indirectly much of Greece, the Balkans, and Asia Minor
Ptolemaic Egypt	301 BCE-170 BCE	The Battle of Ipsus	The invasion of Antiochus IV Epiphanes	Ruled Egypt, Cyrenaica, Palestine, Cyprus, and various territories in Greece and Asia Minor
The Roman Republic	275 BCE-27 BCE	The Battle of Beneventum	The First Settlement between Octavian and the Roman Senate	Continued as the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire	27 BCE-475 CE	The First Settlement between Octavian and the Roman Senate	The overthrow of Emperor Julius Nepos	At its height, ruled all of Europe west of the Rhine and south of the Danube, lower Great Britain,Dacia, North Africa, Asia Minor, the Levant, part of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Armenia.
The Hun Empire	432 CE-454	Unification of the Huns under Ruga	The Battle of Nedao	-
The Eastern Roman Empire/The Byzantine Empire	395 CE-1204 CE	Permanent division of the Roman Empire	The sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade	A diminished empire finally collapsed in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople.

South Asia

|Great Powers throughout Pre-Modern History''

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Country	Dates	Rise	Downfall! Notes
The Kingdom of Kosala	c. 600 BCE - c. 500 BCE	Reign of the Raja Manu line	Absorption by the Magadha Empire	Cultural Hub of Ancient India, holy place for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Fought war with Ancient Sri Lanka.
The Magadhan Empire	540 BCE - 460 BCE	Expansion through much of the northern half of the subcontinent through Emperors Asoka, Bimbisara, Ajathashatru and Bindusara.	Conversion to buddhism and later successors who were too weak to control the realm.	Cultural and economic power. Expanded throughout almost the whole of the Gangetic plains.
The Mauryan Empire	321 BCE-180 BCE	Expansion through Chandragupta Maurya's conquests.	Overthrown by the Sunga dynasty.	Ruled most of South Asia, became a Buddhist pacifist empire c. 250 BC
The Gupta Empire	240-550 CE	Expansion through Chandragupta and Samudragupta's campaigns.	Internal dissension (Pushyamitra) and invasion (Huns) drained the imperial treasury and brought an end to empire	Ruled most of north India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Burma.
The Chola Dynasty	850-c. 1300 CE	Cultural strength and expansion into South East Asia.	Rise of neighbouring kingdoms.	Expanded throughout parts of modern day Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Delhi Sultanate	1145-1526	Under various dynasties	First Battle of Panipat	The first Muslim rulers in India
The Mughal Empire	1526-1739	First Battle of Panipat	Rise of Marathas, formally ended after the Revolt of 1857 against the British	The empire flourished under the 6 great mughals after which it regressed eventually being superceded by the British East India Company.
The Maratha Confederacy	1674-1818	Through the campaigns of Baji Rao II	Third battle of Panipat	Under Shivaji the Marathas harassed the Mughals and held their own in the Deccan region of India
Sikh Punjab	1764-1849	Sikh rebellion against Mughal Emperors	British Rule	Mughals attempted to retake Punjab 9 times. Last kingdom to fall to the British Rule

Southeast Asia