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{{otheruses4|great powers in the modern (post-1815) world|nation-states wielding similar power before 1815|Historical powers}}
].]]

A '''great power''' is a ] or ] that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess ], ], ], and ] strength, which may cause other, smaller nations to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of their own.

The term "great power" was first used to represent the most important powers in ] during the post-] era. Since then, power has been shifted numerous times, most dramatically during ] and ]. While some nations are widely considered to be great powers, there is no definitive list, leading to a continuing debate.

==Characteristics==
There are no set or defined characteristics of a great power. These characteristics have often been treated as empirical, self-evident to the assessor.<ref>Waltz, Kenneth N - Theory of International Politics, McGraw-Hill (1979) - p131</ref> However, this approach has the disadvantage of subjectivity. As a result, there have been attempts to derive some common criteria and to treat these as essential elements of great power status.

Early writings on the subject tended to judge nations by the ] criterion, as expressed by the historian ]:<ref>Taylor, AJP - The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1918, Oxford: Clarendon (1954), xxiv</ref>

{{quote|The test of a Great power is the test of strength for war.|AJP Taylor}}

Later writers have expanded this test, attempting to define power in terms of overall military, economic, and political capacity.<ref>Organski, AFK - World Politics, Knopf (1958)</ref> ] the founder of ] uses a set of five criteria to determine great power: population and territory; resource endowment; economic capability; political stability and competence; and military strength. These expanded criteria can be divided into three heads: power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status.<ref>Danilovic, op. cit., p225</ref>

===Power dimension===
] was one of the first to attempt to scientifically document the great powers.]]
As noted above, for many, power capabilities were the sole criterion. However, even under the more expansive tests power retains a vital place.

This aspect has received mixed treatment, with some confusion as to the degree of power required. Writers have approached the concept of great power with differing conceptualizations of the world situation, from multi-polarity to overwhelming ]. In his essay, 'French Diplomacy in the Postwar Period', the French historian Jean-Baptiste Duroselle spoke to the multi-polarity conceptualization:<ref>contained on page 204 in: Kertesz and Fitsomons (eds) - Diplomacy in a Changing World, University of Notre Dame Press (1959)</ref>

{{quote|A Great power is one which is capable of preserving its own independence against any other single power.|Jean-Baptiste Duroselle}}

This differed from earlier writers, notably from ], who clearly had a different idea of the world situation. In his essay 'The Great Powers', written in 1833, he wrote:<ref>Iggers and von Moltke "In the Theory and Practice of History", Bobbs-Merril (1973)</ref>

{{quote|If one could establish as a definition of a Great power that it must be able to maintain itself against all others, even when they are united, then Frederick has raised Prussia to that position.|Leopold von Ranke}}

These positions have been the subject of criticism.<ref>Danilovic, op. cit., p226</ref> For Duroselle's definition to result in more than one great power, major world powers must be equal in power—each able to resist one another. This fails to take into account the general state of international relations in which amongst great powers there are nations which are stronger than others.

===Spatial dimension===
All nations have a geographic scope of interests, actions, or projected power. This is a crucial factor in distinguishing a great power from a regional power; by definition the scope of a regional power is restricted to its region. It has been suggested that a great power should be possessed of actual influence throughout the scope of the prevailing international system.

{{quote|Great power may be defined as a political force exerting an effect co-extensive with the widest range of the society in which it operates. The Great powers of 1914 were 'world-powers' because Western society had recently become 'world-wide'.|]<ref>Toynbee, Arnold J - The World After the Peace Conference, Humphrey Milford and Oxford University Press (1925) - p4</ref>}}

Other suggestions have been made that a great power should have the capacity to engage in extra-regional affairs and that a great power ought to be possessed of extra-regional interests, two propositions which are often closely connected.<ref>Stoll, Richard J - State Power, World Views, and the Major Powers, Contained in: Stoll and Ward (eds) - Power in World Politics, Lynne Rienner (1989)</ref>

===Status dimension===
Formal or informal acknowledgment of a nation's status as a great power.

{{quote|The status of Great power is sometimes confused with the condition of being powerful, The office, as it is known, did in fact evolve from the role played by the great military states in earlier periods ... But the Great power system institutionalizes the position of the powerful state in a web of rights and obligations.|]<ref>Modelski, George - Principles of World Politics, Free Press (1972) - p141</ref>}}

This approach restricts analysis to the post-Congress of Vienna epoch; it being there that great powers were first formally recognized.<ref name="Danilovic228"/> In the absence of such a formal act of recognition it has been suggested that great power status can arise by implication, by judging the nature of a state's relations with other great powers.<ref>Domke, William K - Power, Political Capacity, and Security in the Global System, Contained in: Stoll and Ward (eds) - Power in World Politics, Lynn Rienner (1989)</ref>

A further option is to examine a state's willingness to act as a great power.<ref>Domke, William K - Power, Political Capacity, and Security in the Global System - p161, Contained in: Stoll and Ward (eds) - Power in World Politics, Lynn Rienner (1989)</ref> As a nation will seldom declare that it is acting as such, this usually entails a retrospective examination of state conduct. As a result this is of limited use in establishing the nature of contemporary powers, at least not without the exercise of subjective observation.

Other important criteria throughout history are that great powers should have enough influence to be included in discussions of political and diplomatic questions of the day, and have influence on the final outcome and resolution. Historically, when major political questions were addressed, several great powers met to discuss them. Before the era of groups like the United Nations, participants of such meetings were not officially named, but were decided based on their great power status. These were conferences which settled important questions based on major historical events. This might mean deciding the political resolution of various geographical and nationalist claims following a major conflict, or other contexts.

There are several historical conferences and treaties which display this pattern, such as the ], the ], the discussions of the ] which redrew the map of Europe, and the ].

==History==
Different sets of great, or significant, powers have existed throughout history; however, the term "great power" has only been used in scholarly or diplomatic discourse since the ] in 1815.<ref>Danilovic, Vesna. "When the Stakes Are High—Deterrence and Conflict among Major Powers", University of Michigan Press (2002), p 27 .</ref> The Congress established the ] as an attempt to preserve peace after the years of ].

], the ], first used the term in its diplomatic context, in a letter sent on February 13, 1814:<ref>Webster, Charles K, Sir (ed), British Diplomacy 1813–1815: Selected Documents Dealing with the Reconciliation of Europe, G Bell (1931), p307.</ref>

{{quote|It affords me great satisfaction to acquaint you that there is every prospect of the Congress terminating with a general accord and Guarantee between the Great powers of Europe, with a determination to support the arrangement agreed upon, and to turn the general influence and if necessary the general arms against the Power that shall first attempt to disturb the Continental peace.|Lord Castlereagh}}

The Congress of Vienna consisted of five main powers: the ], the ], ], ], and ]. Other powers, such as ], ], and ] were consulted on certain specific issues, but they were not full participants. ], ], and ] were also consulted on issues relating to Germany. These five primary participants constituted the original great powers as we know the term today. <ref name="Danilovic228">Danilovic, Vesna - When the Stakes Are High - Deterrence and Conflict among Major Powers, University of Michigan Press (2002), p228 .</ref>
], 1819]]

Over time, the relative power of these five nations fluctuated, which by the dawn of the 20th century had served to create an entirely different balance of power. Some, such as the UK and Prussia (as part of the newly-formed ]), experienced continued economic growth and political power.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.courses.rochester.edu/stone/PSC272/lectures/05-Pro%20Waltz.ppt
|title=Multi-polarity vs Bipolarity, Subsidiary hypotheses, Balance of Power
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|format=PPT
|publisher=University of Rochester}}</ref> Others, such as Russia and Austria-Hungary, slowly stagnated.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/aus-hun.htm
|title=European History ''Austria-Hungary 1870–1914''
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|last=Tonge
|first=Stephen
|coauthors=head of history at Catholic University School in Dublin }}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.electionworld.org/history/russia.htm
|title=A Short History of Russia
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|work=Electionworld }}</ref>. At the same time, other states were emerging and expanding in power, largely through the process of ]. The foremost of these emerging powers were ] after the ] and the ] after its ], both of which had been minor powers in 1815. By the dawn of the 20th century the balance of world power had changed substantially since the Congress of Vienna. The ] was a belligerent alliance of eight nations against the ] in China. It formed in 1900 and consisted of the five Congress powers plus ], Japan, and the United States, representing the great powers at the beginning of 20th century.

Shifts of international power have most notably occurred through major conflicts.<ref>.</ref> The conclusion of World War I and the resulting treaties of ], ], and ] witnessed the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and the United States as the chief arbiters of the new world order.<ref> by Julie Sunday, McMaster University.</ref> The end of World War II saw the United States, United Kingdom, and ] emerge as the primary victors. The importance of ] and France was acknowledged by their inclusion, along with the other three, in the group of countries allotted permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council.

Since the end of the World Wars, the term "great power" has been joined by a number of other power classifications. Foremost among these is the concept of the ], used to describe those nations with overwhelming power and influence in the rest of the world. This term ] has emerged for those nations which exercise a degree of global influence, but are insufficient to be decisive on international affairs. ]s are those whose influence is generally confined to their region of the world. Since the end of World War II, there has been no unanimous agreement among authorities as to the current status of the great powers, with Germany<ref name="Otte-Greve">Otte M, Greve J (2000) , ''St. Martin's Press''</ref><ref name="Sperling">Sperling J (2001) , ''CUP''</ref><ref name="Dottori-Amorosi">Dottori G, Amorosi M (2004) </ref> and Japan<ref name="Er">Er LP (2006) </ref> sometimes being called middle powers or ''economic'' great powers.

Since the founding of the ] in 1945, the permanent seat of the Republic of China was transferred to the ] in 1971 and the permanent seat of the ] was transferred to the ] in 1991, as its ]. There are at present calls to ] so that other states, including ] and ], have permanent seats.

==Change of great powers==
In the past, the term ''great power'' was mostly restricted to powers within Europe (see history above). Ever since the term was first academically used in 1815, numerous powers have rotated between the status of great power, middle power and superpower. These are listed below. Major power shifts occurred in the aftermath of the First and Second World Wars. ], the Russian Empire and the ] all collapsed after World War I. The Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian empires were divided into new, less powerful states; the ] fell to a ]. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the only two superpowers.

After World War II, the European powers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany managed to rebuild their economies. France and the United Kingdom maintained technologically advanced armed forces with power projection capabilities, and currently have the largest defence budgets after the United States. Germany is considered by experts to be an economic great power.<ref>
{{
cite journal
| journal=British Journal of Political Science
| title=Neither Hegemony nor Dominance: Reconsidering German Power in Post Cold-War Europe
| author=Sperling, James
| date=2001 | doi=10.1017/S0007123401000151
}}
</ref><ref name=Otte2000>
{{
cite book
| author=Max Otte, Jürgen Greve
| date=2000
| title=A Rising Middle Power?: German Foreign Policy in Transformation, 1989-1999
| place=Germany
| pages=324
| isbn=0312226535
}}
</ref> It is considered by Chancellor ], former president ] and leading media of the country as a middle power in Europe.<ref>
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.tagesspiegel.de/tso/sonderthema10/nachrichten/impulse-21-berliner-forum-sicherheitspolitik/79202.asp
| title = Porträt: ]
| accessdate = 2007-01-31
| author = Robert Birnbaum
| publisher = Tagesspiegel online
| language = German
| quote = Weichenstellungen in der Außen– und ihrem Unterkapitel, der Sicherheitspolitik sind zugleich von großer Bedeutung für die Zukunft der Mittelmacht Deutschland.
}}</ref><ref>
{{
cite web
| url = http://www.heute.de/ZDFheute/inhalt/25/0,3672,2384889,00.html
| title = German Dream: "Hat Eure Bundeswehreine Seele?"
| accessdate = 2007-01-31
| author = Wolfgang Harrer interviewing ]
| publisher = ] heute.de
| language = German
| quote =Deutschland als führende Mittelmacht
}}
</ref>
China, with the world's greatest population, has built up to great power status during the post-war period, with large growths in economic and military power. In addition, in ], Japan is considered by many to be a great power, and by experts as an economic power like Germany. After the dissolution of the USSR, the newly formed Russian Federation emerged on the level of a great power, leaving the United States as the sole superpower (although this is disputed in favor of the ]). Russia is however sometimes described as an ].

===Great powers in 1815===
These were the recognized great powers at the ]. This is the beginning of the ] and of ] between Britain and Russia.

* {{flagcountry|Austrian Empire}}<ref name="Encarta">
{{cite encyclopedia
|last=
|first=
|author=Peter Howard, B.A., B.S., M.A., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, School of International Service, American University.
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|editor=
|encyclopedia=Encarta
|title=Great Powers
|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761590309/Great_Powers.html
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|edition=
|date=2008
|year=
|publisher=MSN
|volume=
|location=
|id=
|doi=
|pages=
|quote= }}</ref>
* ] ]<ref name="Encarta"/>
* ] ]<ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|Prussia}}<ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|Russian Empire}}<ref name="Encarta"/>

===Great powers c. 1880===
In the middle of the 19th century the Austrian Empire had become Austria-Hungary, and Prussia became part of a larger, ]. ] said in 1880 ''"All politics reduces itself to this formula: try to be one of three, as long as the world is governed by the unstable equilibrium of five great powers"''<ref></ref><ref name="blacksacademy Downside">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3448.html
|title=The Downside of Victory, Consequences of the Franco-Prussian war 1870/71 |accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>

* ] ]<ref name="blacksacademy Downside"/><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3459.html
|title=The Great Powers in 1871: Austria-Hungary
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref name="Defence and Diplomacy"></ref>
* ] ]<ref name="blacksacademy Downside"/><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3458.html
|title=The Great Powers in 1871: Great Britain
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref name="blacksacademy Rivalry">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3474.html
|title=Rivalry between the Great Powers over China from 1890
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref name="Defence and Diplomacy"/>
* ] ]<ref name="blacksacademy Downside"/><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3457.html
|title=The Great Powers in 1871: France
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref name="blacksacademy Rivalry"/><ref name="Defence and Diplomacy"/>
* ] ]<ref name="blacksacademy Downside"/><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3456.html
|title=The Great Powers in 1871: Germany
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref name="blacksacademy Rivalry"/><ref name="Defence and Diplomacy"/>
* {{flagcountry|Russian Empire}}<ref name="blacksacademy Downside"/><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3460.html
|title=The Great Powers in 1871: Russia
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|publisher=Blacks Academy }}</ref><ref name="blacksacademy Rivalry"/><ref name="Defence and Diplomacy"/>

===Great powers c. 1900===
By the turn of the 20th century the ], the ], and the United States had grown to become great powers. The great powers of the early 1900s are best shown by their actions in the ] during the ].<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Dallin
| first = David
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Rise of Russia in Asia
| publisher =
| date =
| location =
| pages =
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=Q5nIUd_mlEcC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=%22boxer+rebellion%22+%22great+powers%22&source=web&ots=PFvmBinYof&sig=Hom8pFuEToBb-31aGxGAUydZOAs&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA56,M1
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = }}</ref>

* ] ]
* ] ]
* {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}
* ] ]
* ] ]
* ] ]
* {{flagcountry|Russian Empire}}
* ] ]

===Great powers in 1919===
In the aftermath of ] there were five main victors<ref>http://en.citizendium.org/Treaty_of_Versailles</ref><ref>] by Margaret MacMillan has the Council of Five Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the United States as the main victors and renaming Great Powers.</ref>. During the ] the "Big Three" - France, the United Kingdom, and the United States held noticeably more power and influence on the proceedings and outcome of the treaty than Italy or Japan<ref>
{{cite book
| last = MacMillan
| first = Margaret
| authorlink = Margaret MacMillan
| coauthors =
| title = ]
| publisher = Random House Trade
| date = 2003
| location = United States of America
| pages = 36, 306, 431
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = 0-375-76052-0 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
| last = Boemeke
| first = Manfred
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Gerald D. Feldman, Elisabeth Glaser-Schmidt
| title =
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| date = 1998
| location = United States of America
| pages =
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = 0-521-62132-1 }}</ref>. By the early 1920s the ] would reach its peak.

* ] ]
* {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}<ref>"''the prime minister of Canada (during the ]) said that there were "only three major powers left in the world the United States, Britain and Japan" ... (but) The Great Powers could not be consistent. At the instance of Britain, Japan's ally, they gave Japan five delegates to the Peace Conference, just like themselves, but in the Supreme Council the Japanese were generally ignored or treated as something of a joke."'' from {{cite book
| last = MacMillan
| first = Margaret
| authorlink = Margaret MacMillan
| coauthors =
| title = ]
| publisher = Random House Trade
| date = 2003
| location = United States of America
| pages = 306
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = 0-375-76052-0 }}</ref>
* ] ]
* ] ]
* ] ]

===Great powers in 1945===

In the aftermath of ] the ] was established and five nations had permanent seats on its Security Council.

* {{flagcountry|Republic of China}}
* {{flagcountry|France}}
* {{flagcountry|Soviet Union}} (also referred to as a ])
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} (until the 1950s also referred to as a superpower<ref>''1956 ] suggested that ], financially weakened by two world wars, could not then pursue its ] objectives on an equal footing with the new superpowers without sacrificing ] of its ] as a central goal of policy.'' - from ] cited by Adam Klug and Gregor W. Smith, 'Suez and Sterling', ''Explorations in Economic History'', Vol. 36, No. 3 (July 1999), pp. 181-203.</ref>)
* {{flagcountry|United States}} (also referred to as a superpower)

The United States and Soviet Union subsequently became the world's superpowers during the era known as the ]. As the Cold War continued, authorities began to question if the United Kingdom and France could retain their long held great power status.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005274
|title=Middle Power
|accessdate=2008-12-20
|last=HOLMES
|first=JOHN
|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia }}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
|title=Britain: Crisis
|journal=Time
|date=Jun. 30, 1961
|first=
|last=
|coauthors=
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|id=
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,895467,00.html
|format=
|accessdate=2008-12-20}}</ref>

===Current great powers===
[[Image:Great Powers Map (C21st).png|349px|thumb|The present day governments thought of as great powers
----
{{legend|{{{color1|#2c5aa0}}}|Current great powers. <small>(China, France, Russia, UK, and U.S.)</small>}}
{{legend|{{{color2|#00B600}}}|Economic great power only. <small>(Germany and Japan)</small>}}]]
====Great powers====
Although the five powers listed below are still sometimes referred to by authorities as great powers, there is no unanimous agreement among authorities. All five have, and are the only states to have at present, permanent seats on the UN Security Council. They are also the recognised "]" under the ].

* {{flag|China}} (successor state to the Republic of China) <ref></ref><ref name="UW Press"/><ref name="PINR"/><ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|France}}<ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|Russian Federation}} (successor state to the Soviet Union) <ref name="UW Press"> </ref><ref name="PINR"></ref><ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}<ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|United States}}<ref name="Encarta"/> (also referred to as a superpower)<ref name="Paper for presentation at the biennial meetings of the South African Political Studies Association Saldanha, Western Cape 29 June-2 July 1999">
{{cite web
|url=http://post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm
|title=Analyzing American Power in the Post-Cold War Era
|accessdate=2007-02-28}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|author=Cohen, Eliot A.
|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040701faessay83406/eliot-a-cohen/history-and-the-hyperpower.html
|title=History and the Hyperpower
|work=Foreign Affairs
|date=July/August 2004
|accessdate=2006-07-14}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1217752.stm
|title=Country Profile: United States of America
|publisher=BBC News
|date=2008-04-22
|accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref>

====Economic great powers====
With considerable economies, the following countries are also sometimes considered to be great powers, despite a lack of nuclear weapons and a permanent seat at the UN Security Council (although both are mentioned in recent proposals to expand the permanent membership of the Security Council). They are sometimes referred to as ].
* {{flagcountry|Germany}}<ref name="Encarta"/>
* {{flagcountry|Japan}}<ref name="UW Press"/><ref name="Asias overlooked Great Power">Richard N. Haass, "", ''Project Syndicate'' April 20, 2007.</ref><ref name="Encarta"/>

==See also==
*] (and ])
*]
*]
*]
*]
*'']''

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
</div>

==Further reading==
*''The Tragedy of Great Power Politics'' by ]
*''Theory of International Politics'' by Kenneth N Waltz
*''World Politics: Trend and Transformation'' by Eugene R. Witkopf
*''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers'' by Paul Kennedy
* ''France and the Nazi Threat: The Collapse of French Diplomacy 1932-1939'' by Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, Introduction by Anthony Adamthwaite (Enigma Books, ISBN 1-929631-15-4)

{{International_power}}
{{Great power diplomacy}}

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Revision as of 21:28, 9 February 2009

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