Who's the next world superpower?
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China has the potential, however, there is a problem. If the United States does enter a Depression, we will be dragging China down with us. China's current rise to power is a direct result of American business and industry. Take that away and China's economy will decline as well. Forget that, it won't decline, it will drop like an elephant that was pushed out of an airplane.
The Chinese economy is going nowhere but up, but it is just too dependent on America. If the United States were to suddenly fall overnight, China will revert back to where they were during much of the early stages of the Cold War.
In terms of military might, China can't project their power that well. This is because their navy is little more than a glorified coast guard. Remember, being able to make your military power felt all across the globe is another key part of being a superpower in the modern world. China can't do this. The Chinese navy has no aircraft carriers, and they can't even take Taiwan in their current state. The Chinese may have a good army and decent air force, but their navy is an absolute joke. Russia has a better navy than China, and the Russian Navy was THE hardest hit branch of the military after the Soviet Union fell.
China has a green-water/frigate navy. That means that it consists of nothing but light to medium combat ships with extremely limited range, capable of doing little more than protecting the coast. The Chinese navy is still DECADES away from being able to make it to Australia. Simply put, China can't project their power beyond the countries they border.
So, while China could become an economic superpower within the coming decades, they still need to become independent of the US. Without the US, the Chinese economy would plummet. Likewise, China has a long ways to go to become a military superpower because their navy is so weak.
The Chinese economy is going nowhere but up, but it is just too dependent on America. If the United States were to suddenly fall overnight, China will revert back to where they were during much of the early stages of the Cold War.
In terms of military might, China can't project their power that well. This is because their navy is little more than a glorified coast guard. Remember, being able to make your military power felt all across the globe is another key part of being a superpower in the modern world. China can't do this. The Chinese navy has no aircraft carriers, and they can't even take Taiwan in their current state. The Chinese may have a good army and decent air force, but their navy is an absolute joke. Russia has a better navy than China, and the Russian Navy was THE hardest hit branch of the military after the Soviet Union fell.
China has a green-water/frigate navy. That means that it consists of nothing but light to medium combat ships with extremely limited range, capable of doing little more than protecting the coast. The Chinese navy is still DECADES away from being able to make it to Australia. Simply put, China can't project their power beyond the countries they border.
So, while China could become an economic superpower within the coming decades, they still need to become independent of the US. Without the US, the Chinese economy would plummet. Likewise, China has a long ways to go to become a military superpower because their navy is so weak.
First thing I thought when I saw the title of this thread was "Who in their right mind would actually want to be a super power?" It seems to me that managing your growth has much more long term survival rates than trying to exert dominance in places it is not welcome. Its like pride before a fall and what have you.
If they weren't so damn impotent they might accomplish something. The day we see a multi-national superpower is a long way off. The main problem with a superpower with such a diverse make-up is that it's extremely difficult to come to a consensus on anything. Odds are, the next superpower will require an extremely powerful central government a la Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia.COR 2000 post=18.73207.787491 said:
BaronAsh post=18.73207.787576 said:
I doubt the Japanese will become a superpower anytime soon. They've got little in the way of natural resources, a relatively small population, and a limited military (surpassed in numbers by Columbia and Syria, and confined by post-WWII treaties, mind you.). Also, with a nation like Japan, any attempt to go nuclear would require a massive effort on the part of the government if they intended to rival even some of the smaller nuclear powers.
ME but personally Canada because they are already an MEDC and has the proper infrastructure and they have basically all the worlds remaining oil, diamond, wood, and gold. However the US is in all ways the worlds super power militarily and economicly sporting the worlds greatest GDP olny problem is our deficit
Japan's constitution prevents them from even having a "real" military. They are limited to a self-defense force, and many think that the Japanese government broke the law when they contributed to the Coalition in Iraq.
All superpowers fuck it up. That's how we get new ones.03fb post=18.73207.787754 said:
Anyways, I'm still holding out on China. On the one hand, they've got a borderline fascist government with the potential to dominate the region, but on the other, a large chunk of their economy is tied to the United States. I figure we'll see a few decades without a major power if the US goes under, to be superseded by a militaristic China, free from its past economic ties to the past superpower.
standing army don't mean crap during any serious war there would be a draft and the US has a vastly superior navy(larger than the next 17 countries combined on the top navy list). that and our army is technologically superior.Alliecat post=18.73207.787779 said: