A superpower can be defined as a state with a leading position in the world that has the ability to influence events around the world. This can be distinguished from regional powers, which may only have influence in a particular geographical area of the world. Economic power or influence refers to the ability of a state to impact global financial affairs or to offer other states economic value. Cultural influence refers to the popular culture, language, ideals, and values that a country is able to spread around the world. Economic power is key to influencing the superpower status of a country, as shown by China’s economic rise over the past 50 years, but it has its limits. Cultural power is also key to understanding today’s world, as shown by the power of the United States’ "American Dream", but it has its own limitations. Overall, while both economic and cultural power can be significant, economic power often outweighs cultural power in determining superpower status.
Economic power and influence are essential to being a superpower in today’s world. For instance, China is considered to be either tied with the USA for the world’s most powerful superpower or a close second. This can be attributed to China’s reopening of its international markets after the economic and political reforms of Deng Xiaoping. These reforms, in the 70s and 80s, included decollectivization of agriculture, opening up the previously closed country to foreign investment, and lifting protectionist policies. Xiaoping’s reforms helped ensure that China opened itself up to international markets. After the reforms, China was on a very strong growth pathway, going from a GDP per capita of $165 in 1976 (before the reforms) to $12556 in 2021. The economic reforms put in place in the 1970s and 1980s put China on the path to becoming a global economic superpower. This is further shown by the growth of Chinese exports, which have increased from less than 8 billion dollars in 1975 to 3,548 billion dollars in 2021. Exports are a key sign of economic power, as China has the theoretical ability to cut exports to certain countries if they do not agree with the Chinese approach. China has used this growth in GDP and exports to build strategic relationships with LICs (low-income countries) around the world through the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative is a project from the Chinese government to build infrastructure and transportation in LICs for the purpose of helping the LICs. However, many international observers see this as a move for economic power and influence in these LICs, which are now beholden to China, and some have speculated that it is a form of neo-colonialism. With the BRI and the growth in exports, China has increased its economic power and influence all over the world, a key characteristic of being a superpower.
That said, only having economic power is often not enough to be a superpower. Only discussing economic power as a measure of success ignores socio-cultural factors and Joseph Nye’s "soft power" theory of power. Chinese socio-cultural influence and soft power include Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese culture and the Chinese language through education. They have been criticized, but they serve China’s goals in spreading Chinese culture, values, and beliefs throughout the world, a key characteristic of being a superpower. Another example of Chinese socio-cultural influence is Chinatown, which can be found in most major cities. Chinatown promotes Chinese culture in non-Chinese countries and can help garner "good will" from citizens of other countries. Chinatown and Confucius Institutes both help to further Chinese values in different countries, which is a key attribute to becoming a superpower.
The importance of cultural influence can also be seen in the United States’ superpower status. The cultural ideal of the "American Dream" was seen around the world as unimpeachable, and to some extent, it is still seen that way today. The United States was seen as aspirational, wealthy, and a place with strong democratic values, which gave it the ability to influence other events around the world. The spread of the English language, in addition to the influences of American TNCs such as the first McDonald's in Russia, are examples of the cultural influence of the United States. The impact of cultural influences such as American TNCs, English, and the so-called "American Dream" should not be understated as measures of the soft power of the United States. In fact, the number of McDonald's restaurants in other countries is part of the KOF index of globalization, showing the importance of this measure in determining how globalized a country is. This globalization increases the state’s ability to influence events throughout the world, one particular characteristic of being a superpower. The sheer cultural influence of the United States, shown by its ideals of values and freedoms, helped it become the world’s only superpower in the middle of the previous century. While many now argue that the cultural gravitas of the United States has declined since the turn of the century, with Denmark being one of the best countries to achieve the "American Dream", it was key in ensuring that the United States was the only world superpower for much of the 1900s. Overall, the importance of cultural influence in becoming a superpower should not be underestimated.
However, while cultural power is important in ensuring the popularity of the country’s values and ideals among the general population, this does not always change much in international affairs. For instance, in the past ten years, we have seen an explosion in popularity and interest in Japanese and South Korean popular culture and media, including anime and other forms of entertainment. However, this has not translated to the traditional definitions of being a superpower for either of these countries, with both facing societal problems like other countries and not being much more powerful in the international arena. If anything, a country such as Japan has actually declined in power since half a century ago, when Japan was seen to be on a meteoric rise to being a global economic powerhouse. This is despite the increased presence of Japanese culture in everyday life. Only having cultural power without military or economic "hard power" does not often lend itself to being a global superpower, showing the limits of so-called "soft power.
In conclusion, while both economic power and cultural power are key aspects in determining if a country is a superpower, economic power often outweighs cultural power in determining if a country is a superpower. In today’s capitalist world, economic power often dominates other types of power, and while it is difficult to be a superpower without both economic and cultural power, economic power is more important in determining a country’s superpower status than cultural power. At the end of the day, the two countries normally considered to be the only two world superpowers, China and the USA, both have the top two largest economies. Therefore, while cultural power has significance in becoming a superpower, economic power is the more significant influence in today’s world.
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