Hyperpower

A hyperpower is a state that dominates all other states in every domain (i.e. military, culture, economy)[1] and is considered to be a step higher than a superpower. The term often refers to the United States of America due to its status as the world's only current superpower; however, its possible status above that remains a topic of dispute.[2]

History

The British journalist Peregrine Worsthorne coined the term in a Sunday Telegraph article published March 3, 1991.[3] After the end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, some political commentators felt that a new term was needed to describe the United States' position (Pax Americana) as the lone superpower.[4][5][6] French foreign minister Hubert Védrine popularized the term in 1998, because from France's position, the United States looked like a hyperpower, although the validity of classifying the United States in this way was disputed.[2]

The term has also been applied retroactively to dominant states of the past. In her book Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—and Why They Fall, American professor Amy Chua suggests that the Achaemenid Empire, the Tang dynasty, the Roman Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire were successful examples of historical hegemons; the Spanish Monarchy, Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and Third Reich were counters; and she reflects on assertions that the United States is a modern hyperpower. In a historical context, it is usually understood to mean a power that greatly exceeds any others in its political environment along several axes; Rome did not dominate Persia, Ancient India or China, but did dominate the entire Mediterranean area militarily, culturally, and economically.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of 'hyperpower'". Collins Dictionary. Collins. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "To Paris, U.S. Looks Like a 'Hyperpower'". International Herald Tribune. The New York Times Company. February 5, 1999. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ McFedries, Paul (February 25, 2002). "hyper-power". Word Spy. Logophilia Limited. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ Nossal, Kim Richard (June 29, 1999). "Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower?". Saldanha, Western Cape: South African Political Studies Association. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  5. ↑ Reiter, Erich; Hazdra, Peter (March 9, 2013). The Impact of Asian Powers on Global Developments. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 5. ISBN 9-783-6621-3172-5. Now though, some people, in whose opinion the term "superpower" does not denote the actual dominance of the USA incisively enough, use the term "hyperpower".
  6. ↑ Cohen, Eliot A. (July 1, 2004). "History and the Hyperpower". Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  7. ↑ Chua, Amy (January 6, 2009). Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—and Why They Fall. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9-780-3074-7245-8.
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