1. Making world events easier to
understand:
View the world as having four
centers of global power
Kathleen Brush
© 2019

2. A competition for global supremacy
(1452-1991)
• Four primary competitors
• Chinese empires
• European empires
• Islamic empires
• Russian empires
© 2019

3. Leading competitors change over time
• 15th century
• Islamic/Muslim and Chinese empires are on top
• Chinese rule eastern Asia, Muslims rule Middle East and North
Africa
• European empires waking from Middle Ages torpor
• Increasing power of Islamic empires was a grand motivator
• The Age of Discovery turned European powers into builders of
overseas empires spanning Americas, Africa, and Asia
• The Russian Empire didn’t exist
© 2019

4. Leading competitors change over time
• 16th century
• Chinese empire changes hands from Ming to Qing
dynasties.
• Spanish and Portuguese empires are building vast global
empires in the Old and New Worlds. Center of power is
Latin America.
• The Austrian Habsburgs are expanding an empire in
Europe
• Sunni Islamic empires continue expanding.
• The Balkan Peninsula in Central Europe is conquered
• Expansion reaches Central and South Asia
• First Shia empire expanding in competition with Sunni
empire
• Tsardom Russia is founded – expansion in eastern
Europe
© 2019

5. Leading competitors change over time
• In the 17th century
• The Chinese empire remains isolated and expanding
• Many European empires are building colonies in the
New World Americas
• Empires in Europe are gaining strength
• Islamic power reaches an apex
• Sunni and Shia empires mired in conflict
• Tsardom Russia is aggressively expanding in central and
eastern Europe
© 2019

6. Leading competitors change over time
• The 18th century
• The Chinese empire is holding steady
• European empires have colonized the three New World
continents: Australia, North America, South America
• The British lose The Thirteen Colonies (now the United States)
• Shiite and Sunni empires continue wars
• The new Russian Empire is making up for lost time
• Focuses on military strength
• Targets lands of the Sunni and Shiite empires in Central Asia
© 2019

7. Leading competitors change over time
• The 19th century
• The Chinese empire is no longer isolated
• Foreigners are operating in China
• Japan is building an empire on China’s turf
• First French Empire (Napoleonic Empire) is disbanded
• France begins expanding a new empire in Africa and Southeast
Asia
• British Empire is world’s largest empire
• Expansion into Southeast Asia
• First German Empire expands into Africa
• Islamic empires lose South Asia to British Empire
• Wars between Sunni and Shia empires subside. Contraction
continues from Russian conquests.
• Russian Empire is ascendant
• Facilitates freeing Balkan Peninsula from Muslim rule
• Expansion strategy rethink after loss in Crimean War
© 2019

8. Leading competitors change over time
• Between 1900 and 1920
• Chinese Revolution dissolves empire
• Russian Revolution dissolves empire
• WWI (1914-1919)
• Losing empires must disband
• What’s left of Habsburg Empire dissolves
• Independent nations are formed
• First German Empire dissolves
• World’s most powerful Islamic empire, Ottoman /Turkish
Empire dissolves
• People and lands are set on course for independence with
French and British oversight
• Europe’s British, French and Italian empires are
victorious, but expansion is limited
• United States participates in WWI under conditions that
change the rules of competition related to spoils of war.
• Empires and aspiring empires resent the changes
© 2019

9. Leading competitors change over time
• 1921-1938
• Republic of China is under attack by expanding
Japanese Empire
• Third Reich/German Empire II is ascending
• Italian Empire is ascending
• British Empire remains world’s largest
• There are no Islamic competitors for global
supremacy
• The Soviet Union (new Russian empire) is expanding
into lands previously held by Russian Empire
© 2019

10. Leading competitors change over time
• 1939-1945 – WWII
• German, Italian and Japanese empires expand
• Former Ottoman lands are gaining independence
• 1945
• Losing empires disband
• German Empire disbands
• Italian Empire disbands
• Japanese Empire disbands
• All other empires agree to disband per UN Charter
• Per UN Charter all people are to be given an
opportunity to live in sovereign nations
© 2019

11. Competition is over - United Nations
• United Nations is formed
• Oversees transition from empires to sovereign independent nations
• Responsible for keeping the peace
• Responsible for overseeing fundamental freedoms for all
• Primary Allied Power nations become UN superpowers that can
veto UN resolutions needed for UN to meet responsibilities
• Veto wielding members include: China,* France,** UK, USA, Soviet
Union. UN superpowers have advantages in new world order.
• No Muslim nations are permanent SC members. None were primary
Allied powers.
*Until 1971 China’s Security Council seat was held by Taiwan
** France was not a primary WWII Allied Power
© 2019

12. Competition is not over
• Portuguese and French work around UN Charter,
deny independence to colonies. Many colonies go
to war for independence.
• China works around Charter and expands territory
into areas once ruled by Chinese Empire.
• Soviet Union works around Charter and expands
territory into former Russian Empire lands and
beyond.
• British Empire disbands per Charter nearly
doubling the number of nation states in the world
© 2019

13. Cold War (1947-1991)-the competition is not over
• The ideals of UN are buried by a new competition for global
supremacy
• The Soviet Union’s objective is a global communist
empire
• China and Soviet Union sign military pact (1945) – They
are the two leaders of 2nd World nations committed to
global communism
• Sino-Soviet split 1960
• The United States becomes leader of the 1st world
committed to preventing the expansion of communism
and building a sphere of influence
• Former British colony, the United States replaces
Europe’s empires as most powerful western nation.
Western nation are aligned in the 1st World.
• US and Europe (and Turkey) form military alliance -
NATO
© 2019

14. Cold War (1947-1991) – The competition
is not over (continued)
• Oil production and demand drives rapid economic and military
expansion in many Muslim economies in Middle East
• 1979 – Shia Iran targets leading a global Islamic empire/community
• Sunni Saudi Arabia is presently de facto leader of Islam
• Iran – Saudi proxy wars begin
• Both nations provide financial support to Islamic militants
• 1982 - China incorporates some capitalism into communist system to
invigorate economy
• Many nations that want to be independent and choose a government
are embroiled in Cold War proxy wars
• 20 million die in Cold War-related conflicts
• Many new countries have modern military weapons
• Over 100 nations become independent during Cold War period
• Cold War politics and conflicts creates many distractions for nation building.
Many new nations don’t progress at all.
© 2019

15. Cold war ends – Is the competition over?
• Soviet Union disbands – ends communism
29 new non-communist nations
• European Union is formed in 1993
• USA lone economic and military superpower
• China joins World Trade Organization (WTO) in
2001, retains communism. Economy explodes.
• Last Cold War conflict (Soviet-Afghan War) fuels
capabilities of Islamic militant organizations
• Some Muslim leaders see opportunity to regain
power in aftermath of Cold War
© 2019

16. The competition is not over
1991-present
• Economically and now militarily powerful China reasserting a position of global
dominance in eastern Asia and beyond
• China claiming control of areas allegedly part of former Chinese Empire
• Other nations in Eastern, Southeastern and South Asia expanding military
• Russia revives from lost decade to reassert a position of dominance
• Claims “protected” near abroad –former Soviet republics
• Rising oil prices fuel economic and military expansion
• Russia infringes on Ukrainian sovereignty to rule former Russian and Soviet land.
• Former Soviet republics building military strength
• Islamic fundamentalists make bid for recovering lands once ruled by Islamic empires
• Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia continue proxy wars for domination of Islam
• Military strength expanding in many countries in Middle East and North Africa
• EU expands membership to include former Soviet satellites in central Europe and
Baltics. NATO members are also increased. EU expands global trading relationships.
• US remains top economic and military power. Continues controversial role as global
cop.
© 2019

17. • Want to learn more about making the world
easier to understand?
• See articles and other posts at
www.kathleenbrush.com and LinkedIn profile
for Kathleen Brush.
• Buy A Brief History of International Relations:
the World Made Easy
https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-
International-Relations-World-
ebook/dp/B0816YM7TX/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=w
orld+made+easy+kathleen+brush&qid=15752504
04&sr=8-1
© 2019