Problems For Superpowers

Question 1

Economic problems and restructuring

Answer 1

Global financial crisis 2007-8, stock market crash and a series of bank failures that in turn lead to a global recession, business closures, and unemployment

Since then the US and EU have slowly rebuilt their damaged economies by:
Paying social service costs such as unemployment benefits
Pay for new infrastructure

Question 2

Structural unemployment

Answer 2

Loss of manufacturing jobs to emerging economies through globalisation

Led to a pool of middle aged low skilled male workers without jobs- many rely on social security payments from gov

Question 3

High social costs

Answer 3

Increase life expectancy, low fertility rates= ageing population

Care home, nurturing care and pension, public healthcare- costs are all rising

This has to be paid for by taxing the shrinking working age population in many EU countries. TIS as fewer contributors and more beneficiaries creates a financial crisis for social systems. This can affect the economy on a macro scale as it facilities mass knock on effects, as a decreasing working population can lead to widespread labour shortages, decrease consumer spending and may lead to a Brian drain effect in the future.

However, to keep their promises to the ageing population, govt would have to adopt pro-migration policies to fill in labor shortages, which can facilitate hostility towards migrants as seen in the summer 2024 riots and reform marches.

Overall, this is most important as it directly undermines SP status as a decreasing population caps GDP growth.

Question 4

Economic problems (military spending can affect geopolitics and global trade routes)

Answer 4

Heavy military spending can create ‘contested’ chokepoints. Key routes like the Strait of Hormuz, are heavily militarized by surrounding nations. This can trigger fracturing the integrity of global trade as it can trigger economic sanctions/ embargo’s, disrupt supply chains and destabilize global trade.

However, it is not the spending itself that creates the chokepoints, it’s the underlying geopolitical rivalry, as geopolitical rivalries incentives nations to increase military spending due to potential/ perceived threats in their trade routes e.g. chinas military expansion in South China Sea could be driven by the malacca dilemma (fear that the competing geopolitical rivalries -India and US) would cut off energy imports).

Question 5

High debt levels, economic restructuring and high social cost can

Answer 5

Have destabilizing effects on the western model international system as it will allow India and china to have an opportunity to pull level w the USA and EU coz of the ongoing and long-term nature of these economic an social problems.

Question 6

Future predictions

Answer 6

Unipolar- USA will remain the top dog as global hegemony and global policemen

Bipolar- china is the society that is most likely to challenge the usa’s superpower status

Multipolar- the USA and EU’s power will decline relatively as BRIC countries are starting to slowly emerge as the new superpower

Question 7

Why is deprivation not a concern for Western countries

Answer 7

Deprivation is increasing in these countries due to the capitalist model, where in order for capitalism to work, there must be poverty. There must be someone to exploit. Therefore politicians aren’t that urgent to quickly eliminate poverty, which makes the socialist model more appealing.