Patterns of Power (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Direct colonial control 

• In the early 20th century the world was multi-polar
• It was an imperial era in which European powers dominated invading and taking power in many countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas
• This power was the result of:
  • Large and powerful military forces including navies to transport forces overseas and protect the sea routes
  • Increasingly large businesses who could exploit resources overseas
  • Ships to transport goods back
• Empires were controlled by force
• The UK was a dominant force due to the size and influence of the British Empire
• At the height of the British Empire in 1922 the UK ruled over 25% of the world's land area and 458 million people

• This was an imperialist system which involved political, economic and/or cultural control
  • The UK exploited the population as a workforce and the resources of the countries
  • The system was maintained mainly through the use of hard power - military 
    • There was some soft power influence as well - introduction of British sports, media
• As other nations industrialised there were sweeping social and political changes and the influence of colonialism and imperialism decreased 
• The costs of rebuilding after WWII also meant that European countries did not have the wealth to maintain colonial rule

Post WWII

• The role of the UK in WWI and WWII, together with the Great Depression led to the collapse of the UK as a superpower
• The period after WWII saw the rise of the USA and USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) to form a bi-polar world
• The result of this was the 'cold war'

Cold War map

• The superpowers maintained power in four main ways
  • Military
  • Political
  • Economic
  • Cultural

Military

• Military alliances developed with other countries supporting the USA or USSR
  • Members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were the countries supporting the USA
  • A collective treaty was established by the USSR this is known as the Warsaw Pact
• The nuclear arms race in which both countries spent millions increasing their nuclear arsenal

Political 

• Political methods included diplomacy and political influence on other countries
  • The Cold War divided many parts of the world into communist and capitalist ideologies
  • Europe was divided into the countries of the east which were mainly communist and those in the west which were capitalist - the two were divided by the 'Iron Curtain'
• During the 1950s the McCarthy hearings led to investigations of alleged communists as Senator Joe McCarthy alleged hundreds of communists had infiltrated the State Department and Hollywood

Economic

• Economic factors were used to gain additional support from developing and emerging countries including:
  • Giving aid to countries
    • Russian aid to countries such India and Ethiopia
    • American aid to Europe via the Marshall plan to rebuild

Recipients of aid from Russia 1954-1984

• • Supporting corrupt regimes 
  • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been used more recently to influence countries such as India and Singapore

Cultural

• The use of cultural mediums such as TV, film and books was used throughout the Cold War to influence people's views and beliefs
  
  • Anti-communist and pro-American values were widely promoted
  • 'How to spot a communist' was a video shown in US schools
• Reports of the McCarthy hearings were broadcast daily in 1954
• The US boycotted the 1980 Olympics which was held in Moscow and the USSR boycotted the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles
• The space race was an extension of the rivalry between the USA and USSR and used as propaganda

Post Cold War

• The Cold War ended in the 1991
• The use of indirect methods to influence other countries and exert power has continued to increase

Neo-colonialism

• An indirect mechanism of control
• Used by Western nations to exert influence and control over ex-colonies
  • Tied aid which means that developing countries have to spend money on goods or services with the donor country
  • Uneven trade where countries are paid little for their resources 

Rise of China

• Since 2000 China has been an emerging power and is identified as the main challenger to the USA hegemon status

China Profile

	China
Political	Tends to stay out of global issues Not a democracy  Relationships with many other nations are not always positive
Economic	Second largest GDP in the world Large scale investment in African countries Investment in infrastructure
Military	Increasing military force but not always well equipped Only one overseas military base Nuclear power
Demographic	2nd largest population in the world Ageing population
Cultural	Chinese foods are increasingly popular around the world There is little global influence on art, music, and literature on a global scale

• It is not yet a superpower for a number of reasons, including:
  • The limited reach of its military 
    • It only has one overseas base
    • The navy rarely leaves the Indo-Pacific region
  • Its economic output is still lower than that of the USA
  • Approximately 25% of China's population live in poverty (less than US$5.50 a day)
  • Many people in China do not have access to good healthcare, education or clean drinking water
  • Lack of democracy
  • Censorship of media 
  • Human rights abuses
• China has sought to extend its influence investing in its navy and is looking to increase military bases overseas
• It has launched initiatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to increase its political influence

• The different patterns of power all have varying degrees of geopolitical stability and risk

Pattern of Power	Example(s)	Stability and risk
Uni-polar	USA (1991-?)	Stable  Hard to maintain
Bi-polar	Cold War - USA and USSR (1945-1991)	Stand offs between opposing powers can occur such as Cuban Missile Crisis Situation is stable but can escalate
Multi-polar	Inter-war (1919-1939)	Lack of dominant power can lead to increased risk of conflict  Less stable