User:Nobleeagle/India as an emerging superpower/New


 * For more information on the topic see Emerging superpowers and Superpower

The Republic of India is considered as one of the possible emerging superpowers of the world. This potential is attributed due to several indicators, the primary ones being its demographic trends and a rapidly expanding economy. However the country suffers from many economic, social, and political problems that it must overcome before it can be considered a superpower. It is also not yet influential on the international stage as compared to the United States or the former Soviet Union.

Definition
A superpower is a nation that exercises dominance over the remainder of the world through a combination of hard power (military, economic) and soft power (cultural power). The term superpower was originally used to describe the Soviet Union and the United States in the Cold War and later to describe only the United States in a unipolar world. The United States is still the superpower of today.

Thus to emerge as a superpower, a nation would have to be roughly have equal power in international relations to the United States. The title of superpower is based on relative terms and there are not a strict set of guidelines to govern a superpower. A superpower is dominant over its contemporaries, and thus as powers over the world continue to grow or decline, there are likely to be power shifts in terms of polarity. Thus, if a nation can reach the economic, political and military strength of the contemporary United States in many years time, it will not necessarily be a superpower, as the United States may have also risen in technological and military strength since then. India's growth in recent times has led to speculation by media, politicians and academics that India may match the United States in the future.

Current status
India is referred by some academics as a great power, while some do not even agree with this, referring it to as a possible great power in the future. A great power is considered one level below a superpower, although it should be noted that no strict criterion are applied and the status of great power is given through various types of analysis of a country's strength.

Geographical position
In the past, it has been noted that all powers that have wielded considerable authority over their contemporaries have possessed a geographic position with which it could support a larger economy and military. This usually also involves large area.

Economic growth since 1990s

 * Include its sudden growth, all it's economic factors if they are linked to superpower status in the sources
 * Include disadvantages of economic growth (inflation), if it is linked to hindering it's growth only.

India's recent economic growth has come due to it's population growth in recent years. As a country of 1.1 billion, it has immense potential as a strong economy.

Hard power

 * Include it's hard power
 * Include it's issues with other nations and how they impose hard power on it and how it has border disputes etc.

Political influence

 * Only from papers which actually have to do with political influence in relation to superpower or great power statuses.

Soft power

 * It's soft power

Issues hindering growth as a superpower

 * Other issues like poverty