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For the mathematical operator, see Tetration.
A hyperpower is a state that is militarily, economically, and technologically dominant on the world stage. The term was first used to describe the United States in the 1990s. It has also been applied, in retrospect, to the British Empire. [1] [2]
[edit] Origin
After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, some political commentators felt that a new term was needed to describe the United States' position as the lone superpower. Ben Wattenberg coined the term 'omnipower' in 1990 and Peregrine Worsthorne used the term 'hyper-power' in 1991. French foreign minister Hubert Védrine popularized the term hyperpower in his various criticisms of the United States beginning in 1998. [3]
[edit] United Kingdom (1815 to 1914)
Throughout much of the Victorian era, the United Kingdom was similar to the modern term 'hyperpower'. A comparable phrase for the period, summing up the pervasive strength of British industrial, territorial and politico-military power was the phrase: 'The sun never sets on the British Empire'. On the other hand the UK was never able to maintain dominance on land as it could on sea. Either Prussia, France, Russia, or Germany was still a continental power.
- ^ To be sure, the United Kingdom had a moment of "hyperpower" in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars... (Ferguson 2003)
- ^ At the beginning of the 20th century, the British Empire was an unopposed hyperpower. (Last 2005)
- ^ Definition and Use of the Word Hyperpower
[edit] References
- "To Paris, U.S. Looks Like a 'Hyperpower'", The International Herald Tribune, February 5, 1999, retrieved August 20, 2006
- "Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower? Analyzing American Power in the Post-Cold War Era", "Paper for presentation at the biennial meetings of the South African Political Studies Association Saldanha, Western Cape 29 June-2 July 1999", retrieved February 28, 2007
- Ferguson, Niall, "Hegemony or Empire?", Foreign Affairs, Council on Foreign Relations, Inc., September/October 2003. Retrieved on 2006-09-15.
- Last, Jonathan, "Rule America?", The Weekly Standard, News America Incorporated, October 21, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-09-15.
- Védrine, Hubert. France in an Age of Globalization, Brookings Institution Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8157-0007-5
[edit] See also
