Geopolitics and International Affairs

Geopolitics and Inter landal personal mattersGeopolitics and Inter realmal AffairsWhat be the key chemical elements in contemporary redistri howeverions of Geopolitical Power?The encyclopedia Britannica describes Geopolitics as analysis of the geographic influences on antecedent relationships in multinational relations (2010) therefore Geopolitical Power is the mogul certain nations go through over former(a) nations, based upon Geographic influences and advantages.Across the world the geographies of supply metamorphose from nation to nation over time (such as the shift in power from Britain to the USA subsequently WWII) and the hegemonic structure has a enormous effect on world dynamics such economy, politics, society and culture. The nation with the most power tends to have the greatest influence over these and separate factors. Currently, and in recent years there has been a notable vacate in power from nations in the geographic east (most notably chinaware) coincid ing to the apparent decline in power by the worlds online round top geopolitical power (the USA). This is raising serious questions as to the future of the current hegemonic structure. in that location are a number of key factors which are crusade this shift in power and here I aim to steer and analyse these so that I whitethorn answer the question What are the key factors in contemporary redistributions of Geopolitical Power?The USA is presently the worlds dominant geopolitical power and has been since World state of war II. According to Fareed Zakaria (2008) the linked States unrivalled economic status has lasted more than 120 years and that The US economy has been the worlds largest since the center field of the 1880s. As of 2008, The CIA World Fact book ranks the USA as having the highest GDP/PPP of any individual nation (The EU is graded higher than the USA but is technically a united class of countries) which stands at $14,440,000,000,000 just about double that of the next country on the list, mainland chinaware (CIA, 2008). In 2004 James F. Hoge, author of A Global Power prisonbreak in the Making (2004) explained that Chinas economy is growing at more than ennead percent annually and that Chinas economy is expected to be double the coat of it of Ger somes by 2010 and to overtake lacquers, shortly the worlds second largest, by 2020. To put Chinas rapid growth into perspective in 2010, its GDP has already overtaken that of Germanys, with economic spectators soothsaying Chinas economy to outstrip Japans this year- 10 years prior to Hoges 2004 prediction.However, the economy of a nation may be an important indicator of world power, but is by no means the sole factor in find hegemonic status the USA is still dominant for other reasons. Military specialization is- and always has been- one of the key ways of determining the power of a nation. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) cited the USA as having a soldiery use of goods and services in 2008 which amounted to $607,263,000,000, accounting for 41.5% of the worlds total military spending (SIPRI, 2009). Military strength provides a nation with the means of physically exercising its geopolitical power over other nations, and the USA currently dominates land, sea and air with its military presence. China may be a growing militant power and have a larger soldiery in terms of personnel, however its military expenditure is a ingredient of the USAs and one must also take into account the sheer size of the creation in China which explains the high numbers of active servicemen in the country. Both countries currently have a nuclear capability, which during the Cold War was widely seen as a necessary qualification for a basis at the top table. This is no longer the case and like a shot the possession or ontogeny of nuclear weapons is deemed unacceptable behaviour (Hurrell, 2006). This is an character of how the factors of determining Geopolit ical power change over time. The demographics of a nation are also of vital importance to its development and changes in universe structure fag have dramatic effects within both developing and developed nations. As of the thirteenth Jan 2010, the existence of the USA is around 308,478,201, (United States official state clock, 2010) whilst the population of China is around 1,335,035,010 (Chinese official population clock, 2010) over 1 billion more than the USA. This is a vital factor in explaining why China has been experiencing such rapid growth in the past decade. Firstly, a large population means more hoi polloi spending money, which raises the countrys GDP- China is currently the worlds second largest consumer behind the USA (Zakaria, 2008 2). In the current economic climate with recession still looming over many nations, it is important for the general population to keep spending in differentiate to stimulate the economy in China, this is no issue due to the great numbers of heap. This is why China, and Asia in general, has not been so greatly modify by the global recession as the USA and Europe. A population of this size also provides China with a long number of people of on the job(p) age to power the worlds largest manufacturing industry, as well as other important areas of industry from banking (to lead China through this economic shift) to horticulture (to feed the spacious numbers of people living in the country). China is so competitive on the international scene due to its vast labour force.However, it is the structure of a population which is really vital in determining the future power of a nation. An ageing population can put a strain on the relatively smaller working age population due to the cost of providing health care, pensions, housing, etc. A youthful population puts strain on grooming and health services, sustenance supplies and can result in too a lack of jobs in the future. Both have their issues, but both also have ben efits. Japan for example has the worlds largest ageing population with 12.1% aged 65 and over in 2000, with a predicted place upright to 26.2% by 2020 (Anderson, Hussey. 2000). Japan is now experiencing deep demographic issues with the working age population being too small to detain the large elderly population, and the birth rate continually falling having implications to the development of the country which has experienced declining power over the past 2 decades. There is a well known phrase that children are the future and this perception is heeded particularly well in the USA. Whilst China may have a huge workforce, they are relatively uneducated. The USA prides itself upon the fact that its education constitution is so highly regarded, having a high output of skilled workers graduating from its reputable universities every year. According to Zakaria (2008 2) the States trains more high-quality 4 year engineering science graduates per capita than any other country with Ei ght of the top 10 universities in the worldin the United States. This is why when visiting many US (and European) higher education facilities it is easy to notice the high proportion of Asian (particularly Chinese) students, as these institutions stick out a far higher standard of education than would be addressable in Asia. These Asian students typically stay in America after they have completed their education due to more job prospects with a better rate of pay than available back home, so are a vital resource to the country. Americas acquisition and prolonged control of power can largely be thanked to the younger generations who have been educated by US education facilities and gone on to create a huge pool of skilled and talented workers. These workers drive the economic industries of the US, whilst their high expenditure on commodities and consumer goods helps fuel growth of its GDP.Many people believe that China is the sole competitor to the USA for hegemonic status, believi ng that eventually China go forth overtake America as the sole dominant world power in terms of economy, military, culture, etc. However, others such as Fareed Zakaria (2008 2) believe that the rise of rest is far more liable(predicate) meaning that power go forth become dispersed amongst a number of powerful nations under America so that global decisions will no longer be make from one side of the globe. The countries believed to be the main competitors to this state of uni-multipolarity are those referred to as BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China. Uni-multipolarity will be the resulting situation whereby the US is still the superpower, but with these BRIC countries having overmuch more participation in world affairs than they have make in the current uni-polar (US dominant) geopolitical structure. This shift in power may come as a shock to America and there is likely to be resistance of some sort from the west, although it is very unlikely that the US will lose i ts dominance so it should look to facilitate the transition of geopolitical power to make this inevitability happen as smoothly as possible. BIBLIOGRAPHYAnderson, GF Hussey, P (2000) Population aging a comparison among industrialised countries. Health Affairs. Online Vol 19. No. 3. Sections 191 203. obtainable from http//healthaff.highwire.org/cgi/reprint/19/3/191.pdf (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010)CIA (2010). The World Fact Book Country Comparison GDP. Available from https// vane.cia.gov/depository library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html?countryName=United%20StatescountryCode=usregionCode=narank=2us (Last accessed eleventh Jan 2010)CPIRC (2010). Chinese official population clock. http//www.cpirc.org.cn/index.asp (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010)Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (2010). Geopolitics Online Available from http//www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/229932/geopolitics (Last accessed 11th Jan 2010)Hoge, J (2004). A Global Power Shift in the Making. For eign Affairs. Online Vol. 83, No. 4. Pg 2-7. Available from http//asr2.myweb.uga.edu/Fall%202004/Readings/Global%20power%20shift%20in%20the%20making.pdf (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010)Hurrell, A (2006). Hegemony, Liberalism and Global Order What length for would-be great powers? International Affairs. Online Vol 82, No. 1. Pg 1-19. Available from http//www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/english/content/rpn/pdf/international_affairs_2006.pdf (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010)SIPRI (2009).The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database USA. Available from http//milexdata.sipri.org/result.php4 (Last accessed 11th Jan 2010)U.S Census Bureau (2010). United States official population clock. http//www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010)Zakaria, F (2008). The Future of American Power How America can survive the rise of the rest. Foreign Affairs. Available from http//www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63394/fareed-zakaria/the-future-of-american-power (Last accessed 11t h Jan 2010)Zakaria, F (2008) 2. The chain mail American World. Online Available from http//www.cnl.com/documents/Post-American%20World.pdf (last accessed 13th Jan 2010)