US Superpower Status

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  A sovereign state or supranational union holding a dominant global position, capable of exerting influence and projecting power on a global scale through economic, military, technological, political, and cultural strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence.

• Formal Allies

  68

• Key Components

  Economic strength, military strength, technological strength, political strength, cultural strength, diplomatic influence, soft power influence

• Military Bases

  587 bases across 42 countries

• Alternative Term

  Hyperpower

• Domestic Challenges

  Domestic political divisions, corruption, rising inequality, ethnic and cultural tensions, declining upward mobility, entrepreneurship, and life expectancy, massive US debt, mediocre infrastructure, potential 'Urban Doom Spiral' due to student loan debt and Democratic Party establishment failures

• Military Budget (2020)

  US$778 billion

• Current Status (2023-2024)

  Undisputed, Extant Superpower, world's only true superpower (according to some experts)

• Contributing Factors (Recent)

  US Energy Independence, expansion of Abraham Accords, resilient US Stock Market, breakthroughs in AI Copyright law (Fair Use for training data), productivity enabled by Starlink

• Gross Domestic Product (2024)

  US$28.78 trillion

Timeline

• The term 'superpower' was first applied to the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1944-XX-XX

• Beginning of the Cold War, during which the United States and the Soviet Union dominated world affairs. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1947-XX-XX

• Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the world's sole superpower. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1991-12-26

• Since the late 2010s and into the 2020s, China has increasingly been described as an emerging or established superpower, posing a significant geopolitical test to the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2010s-XX-XX

• The US intervened in the Israel-Iran conflict through 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' utilizing Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs against Iran's nuclear sites. (Source: Related Document)

  Recent

• Donald Trump de-escalated the Israel-Iran conflict by negotiating a ceasefire, resisting calls for a full-scale regime change war. (Source: Related Document)

  Recent

• A landmark ruling for Anthropic clarified AI Copyright law, affirming Fair Use for training AI on legally acquired data, distinguishing input from output, and clarifying piracy vs. copyright in AI. (Source: Related Document)

  Recent

Superpower

Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political, and cultural strength as well as diplomatic and soft power influence. Traditionally, superpowers are preeminent among the great powers. While a great power state is capable of exerting its influence globally, superpowers are states so influential that no significant action can be taken by the global community without first considering the positions of the superpowers on the issue. In 1944, during World War II, the term was first applied to the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States. During the Cold War, the British Empire dissolved, leaving the United States and the Soviet Union to dominate world affairs. At the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States became the world's sole superpower, a position sometimes referred to as that of a "hyperpower". Since the late 2010s and into the 2020s, China has increasingly been described as an emerging superpower or even an established one, as China represents the "biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century" to the United States, as it is "the only country with enough power to jeopardize the current global order".

Web Search Results

• World Superpowers 2025 - World Population Review

  The United States is the one country today whose global superpower status is undisputed. In fact, some experts argue that the U.S. is currently the world’s only true superpower. The U.S. is the world’s most dominant military and economic power, with a military budget of US$778 billion as of 2020 and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$28.78 trillion as of 2024. The United States spends more on defense than the next nine highest-spending countries (China, India, Russia, the U.K., Saudi [...] | | Country | Power Ranking (US News 2023)↑ | Superpower Status | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | United States | 1 | Extant Superpower | | | China | 2 | Potential superpower | | | Russia | 3 | Potential superpower | | | Germany | 4 | Potential economic superpower | | | United Kingdom | 5 | Potential economic superpower | | | South Korea | 6 | | | | France | 7 | | | | Japan | 8 | Potential economic superpower | | | Saudi Arabia | 9 | | | | United Arab Emirates | 10 | | [...] U.S. remains the only global superpower or whether it is one of a small, select group of superpowers.

• Why the United States Is the Only Superpower | Tufts Now

  In his recent book Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower, Beckley documents the multitude of U.S. strengths and its rivals’ many weaknesses. That’s not to say America couldn’t decline, due to domestic political divisions and corruption, and lose its sole superpower status. But overall, he says, it’s more likely to thrive. [...] As a result, serious domestic problems are getting worse. Inequality and ethnic and cultural tensions are rising. Upward mobility, entrepreneurship, and life expectancy are declining. The U.S. debt is massive. Infrastructure is generally mediocre. Without functioning political institutions, these problems could spiral out of control. #### Your view that the U.S. will maintain its status as the world’s sole superpower is not in the mainstream. Why do you think that is? [...] It has sixty-eight formal allies, and it is the only country that can fight major wars beyond its home region, with 587 bases scattered across forty-two countries. Yale historian Paul Kennedy conducted a famous study comparing great powers over the past five hundred years and concluded: “Nothing has ever existed like this disparity of power; nothing.” The United States is, quite simply, “the greatest superpower ever.” Michael Beckley ### We’re Still Number One

• The USA is a Post-Trust Superpower | by Brian Iselin | May, 2025

  Security & Defence; World Affairs; Human Rights. Here's my new Substack. Get 10% discount before 15 June! ## Responses (8) Help Status About Careers Press Blog Privacy Rules Terms Text to speech [...] for the charts, stay for the corpses of old alliances, and brace for three more autopsies in this series. [...] Sign up Sign in Sign up Sign in Member-only story # The USA is a Post-Trust Superpower ## How Washington Engineered Its Own Decline Brian Iselin -- 8 Share No nation in modern history has squandered goodwill as efficiently as the United States. In 2015, 68% of humanity believed the USA would champion global stability. By 2025, less than half still do — not because rivals triumphed, but because Washington perfected the art of unforced errors.

• The U.S. is No Longer the World's Only Superpower | TIME

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• The United States as a sulking superpower - GIS Reports

  With its Cold War triumph over the Soviet Union, the U.S. emerged as the world’s sole superpower, its global dominance nearly absolute. In an era of crumbling borders, growing openness and the international division of labor, America sought to showcase and enforce its economic and political model, exporting it to all corners of the globe. The aim was to create a world system that would be profitable, livable and secure for the U.S. and its allies. [...] ## Scenarios ### More likely: The U.S. remains the leading power