Editing Superpower (section)

== Superpower collapse ==
=== Soviet Union ===
Dramatic changes occurred in the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Eastern Bloc]] during [[history of the Soviet Union (1982–91)|the 1980s and early 1990s]], with ''[[perestroika]]'' and ''[[glasnost]]'', the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in November 1989, and finally the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in December 1991. As early as 1970, [[Andrei Amalrik]] had made [[predictions of the dissolution of the Soviet Union|predictions of Soviet collapse]], and [[Emmanuel Todd]] made a similar prediction in 1976.<ref>The final fall, Todd, 1976</ref> Due to Russia's capabilities of conventional warfare during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] Russia was compared to a "[[Potemkin village|Potemkin]] Superpower" by [[Paul Krugman]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=[[Paul Krugman]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/putin-military-sanctions-weakness.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301041314/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/putin-military-sanctions-weakness.html|url-status=live|archive-date=1 March 2022|title=Russia Is a Potemkin Superpower|journal=[[New York Times]]|date=28 February 2022|access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> Russia is a [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-weapon state]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=William H |first=Boothby |date=10 March 2016 |title=13 Nuclear Weapons |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198728504.003.0013 |journal=Weapons and the Law of Armed Conflict |pages=208–216 |doi=10.1093/law/9780198728504.003.0013|isbn=978-0-19-872850-4 }}</ref>

=== British Empire ===

The [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956 is considered by some commentators to be the beginning of the end of Britain's period as a superpower,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/mar/14/past.education1 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Derek | last=Brown | title=1956: Suez and the end of empire | date=14 March 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5199392.stm | work=BBC News | first=Paul | last=Reynolds | title=Suez: End of empire | date=24 July 2006}}</ref><ref>History's worst decisions and the people who made them, pp. 167–172</ref> but other commentators have pointed much earlier such as in [[World War I]], the [[Depression of 1920–21]], the [[Partition of Ireland]], the return of the [[pound sterling]] to the [[gold standard]] at its prewar parity in 1925, the [[Fall of Singapore]], the loss of wealth from [[World War II]], the end of [[Lend-Lease|Lend-Lease Aid]] from the United States in 1945, the postwar [[Economic history of the United Kingdom#1945–1951: Age of Austerity|Age of Austerity]], the [[Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom|Winter of 1946–47]], the beginning of decolonization and the independence of [[British Raj|British India]] as other key points in Britain's decline and loss of superpower status.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom|title=United Kingdom {{!}} History, Geography, Facts, & Points of Interest|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-04-17}}</ref>

The Suez Crisis in particular is regarded by historians to be a political and diplomatic disaster for the British Empire, as it led to large-scale international condemnation, including extensive pressure from the United States and Soviet Union. This forced the British and the French to withdraw in embarrassment and cemented the increasingly-[[polarity (international relations)|bipolar]] Cold War politics between the [[Soviet Union]] and United States. In the 1960s, the movement for decolonization reached its peak, with remaining imperial holdings achieving independence, accelerating the transition from the [[British Empire]] to the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. As the Empire continued to crumble, the [[British Islands|home islands]] of the United Kingdom later experienced deindustrialization throughout the 1970s, coupled with high inflation and industrial unrest that unraveled the [[postwar consensus]]. This led to some economists to refer to Britain as [[the Sick Man of Europe]]. In 1976, the United Kingdom had to seek assistance from the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) which it had previously ironically helped create, receiving funding of $3.9&nbsp;billion, the largest-ever loan to be requested up until that point.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/imf-crisis.htm |title=National Archives |access-date= 17 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=NA-SterlingDevalued>{{cite web|title=Sterling devalued and the IMF loan|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/sterling-devalued-imf-loan.htm|website=The National Archives|access-date=17 December 2015}}</ref> In 1979, the country suffered major widespread strikes known as the [[Winter of Discontent]]. All these factors were seen by academics, economists and politicians as symbolising Britain's postwar decline. Lastly, the [[Handover of Hong Kong]] to China in July 1997 was seen by experts as the definitive end of the British Empire.

Nevertheless, the United Kingdom today has retained global [[soft power]] in the 21st century, including a formidable military. The United Kingdom continues to have a permanent seat on the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] alongside only four other powers, and is one of the nine nuclear powers. Its capital city, London, continues to be regarded as one of the pre-eminent cities in the world, being ranked as a [[global city]] by the Mori Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Power City Index 2020|url=http://www.mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/ius2/gpci2/2020.shtml|access-date=2021-06-02|website=The Mori Memorial Foundation}}</ref> In 2022, the United Kingdom was ranked the foremost European country in terms of soft power by Brand Finance.<ref name="Global soft power index">{{cite web|url= https://brandfinance.com/press-releases/global-soft-power-index-2022-usa-bounces-back-better-to-top-of-nation-brand-ranking|title= Global Soft Power Index 2022: USA bounces back better to top of nation brand ranking|website=brandfinance.com|date= 15 March 2022|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref>

=== United States ===
{{see also|American decline}}

In ''[[After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order]]''<ref>Todd, Constable, 2001</ref> (2001), French sociologist Emmanuel Todd predicts the eventual decline and fall of the United States as a superpower. "After years of being perceived as a problem-solver, the US itself has now become a problem for the rest of the world." Since the 2010s, as a result of [[asymmetric polarization]] within the United States, as well as globally perceived [[U.S. foreign policy]] failures, and China's growing influence around the world, some academics and geopolitical experts have argued that the United States may already be experiencing a decay in its [[soft power]] around the world.<ref name="Foreign Policy piece">{{cite web|url= https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/28/us-global-power-values-roe-v-wade-guns/ |title=America Is Losing Its Value Proposition |website=Foreign Policy |first= Howard W. |last=French |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="Stanford commentary">{{cite web |url=https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/soft-war-america-losing |title=The Soft War That America Is Losing |publisher=Stanford University |first=Aynne |last=Kokas |date=15 January 2021 |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>