Is the USA still a superpower?

Is the US still a superpower?

A superpower is an extremely powerful nation, especially one capable of influencing international events and the acts of policies of less powerful nations. The United States emerged from Word War II as one of the two foremost powers in the world and expressed his power since, thus becoming a superpower. But with all the growing countries and competition, are the United States still a superpower nowadays?

First of all, the United-States have a cultural influence. Before the 20th century, the « American Dream » was the United States’ greatest cultural export to the world, everyone all over the world dreamed of the American fame and lifestyle. Around the time of the World War I, Americans began to export some of their culture worldwide like movies and music. Since 1950’s and still today, the American lifestyle has a big impact because of the fact that their culture went global. Nowadays, the American media, films, literature, sport, music and art are popular in every single country.

Moreover, the American economy remains the foundation of the global financial system. More than 80% of all financial transactions worldwide are made in dollars. The US economy represents about 20% of total global output and is larger than China’s. Furthermore, United-States have a big manufacturing base and it is the second largest manufacturer in the world and a leader in high-value industries such as automobiles, aerospace or machinery. As long as the world continues to place such faith in America’s currency and overall economic stability, the US economy remains one to beat.

In addition, America’s military superiority remains unrivaled. The United-States spend close to what the entire rest of the world spend in defense: 711$ billion per year. They acquire 37% of the global military spending and dominate across sea, land, air and space. The United States has engaged in every type of ground warfare in the last 20 years. They also have a wide range of weapons and all the advanced stealth technology.  As an example, there are 8,400 attack helicopters in the world and the United-States have 6,400 of them.

Besides, the United-States have a big political influence. For them, foreign aid is an effective way to prove their power. In 2013, the United States gave out 32,7 billions dollars in financial assistance which influenced political cooperation with countries in need. Plus, the United-States have the oldest working national constitution in the world with strong institutions and laws. This system has attracted a lot of people: 45 millions people living in the United-States today are from other countries. For them, American remains the best place to start a new life.

To put in a nutshell, we can say that United-States has a big influence worldwide with the American culture: medias, films, sport, literature, music. Their economy is also the most powerful in the world, they have the biggest range of military equipment and their politics occur all the over the world, all of those elements making them a superpower.

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