THE RISE & FALL OF DOMINANT GLOBAL POWERS

According to ancient historical records, Sumer (located in southern Mesopotamia – a.k.a. the Cradle of civilization) is generally recognized as the earliest nation which successfully assumed a hegemonic position on Earth for a significant period of time. The Sumerians, however, were in due course eliminated by their exceedingly more powerful northern neighbors in Assyria, which, along with its successors in Babylon contested Egypt for role of super power for several decades. Likewise, these were replaced by Persia which ruled the overwhelming majority of all recognized territories of the era for quite some time. Yet, partly due to their inability to eliminate opposition and fully control all of the emerging Greek states, the Persians were eventually succeeded by the glorious the Roman Empire as the global dominant power; such prominent status became uncontested only after their successful elimination of Carthage during the Second Punic War; after which Rome hold sway over the entire “known world” for nearly seven centuries (an achievement which none of its successors has been, so far, capable of emulating).

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the (Christian) Byzantine and ultimately its successor (Islamic) Ottoman Empire became the commanding ruler of Western Civilization in Constantinople (now Istanbul); thus becoming the sole shining beacon of knowledge, culture and sophistication for centuries (west of a far remote, isolated China) until the emergence Islamic Caliphates of Cordoba and Baghdad. Together, these Islamic Super Powers (standing in sharp contrast with its modern counterpart) upheld and further developed all knowledge rescued from a brutalized Medieval Europe, which had regressed into the darkest pits of barbarism under the powerful grip of dogmatic catholic oppression.

Due to the influence of its progressive neighbors in Cordoba, Portugal eventually come to light as a major Maritime Power, often perceived as the first sign of a re-emerging Europe after centuries of Medieval “darkness”, the bold, adventures Portuguese, the first European navigators to venture beyond the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean and circumventing the African continent, also epitomize the earliest signs of independent thought, thus laying the foundations of a very long, valiant struggle of Science and “Reason” against the dogmatic religious intolerance of the oppressive catholic church…

With the upsurge of the Italian Renaissance and the following Neo-Classical era, the world witnessed the rise of Spain and France as the prevailing Sovereign States on planet Earth, despite the remaining nefarious influence of the Catholic Church in both royal courts at Madrid and Paris. Due to the efforts and sacrifices of many heroes, the Spanish and French explorers were capable to start disseminating relatively free artistic marvels, early scientific discovery and even the some of the earliest examples in Freedom of Expression (a quintessential western trait), while at the same time plundering the resources and victimizing the natives of the vast new territories in order to solidify their role of Dominant World Powers.

At the close of the Seventeenth Century, following a long, bloody epoch of religious conflicts, the development of Political Philosophy along the concept of “Liberty” enabled the British Empire to surface as the third Global Super Power (following Rome & Spain). Despite its inevitable blunders in terms of socio-economic exploitation, the relatively benign British Imperialism along with a significantly less intolerant Anglican church, spread the seeds of “freedom” and “representative government” whereas establishing the foundation for a world where Slavery became illegal (1806).

Similar to its historical predecessors, at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, the gradual decline of Great Britain as the World’s main power was further exacerbated, notwithstanding its enormous wealth, naval force, and sizable colonial territories. Yet the highly sophisticated British ruling classes were self-delusional in their inability to recognize the upcoming downfall until compelled to face reality, immediately after the Great War (1914-18), given the overwhelming losses sustained and subsequent economic deterioration.
As a result of direct assistance from the United States of America, which had been gradually flexing muscles in the background since the 1870’s, the United Kingdom managed to avoid financial melt-down; but was rapidly replaced as Global Leader by its very economic-military rescuers, notwithstanding the American refusal to partake in the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919. Nevertheless, Washington’s newly enhanced global status was soon diluted by the emergence of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1945, when the American government was compelled to share such prominent role with its “former allies” after their combined victory against the Axis Powers.

Although the former Soviet Union and the United States ruled supreme during most of the previous century, analogous to their historical predecessors, both nations inevitably witnessed their decline, in spite of opposing ideologies. Whereas the USSR suddenly crumbled in 1991, when their “union” disintegrated and their “colonies” were lost, the USA’s fall from grace has been significantly more gradual. Yet, regardless of a brief period of “revival” during the Reagan & Clinton years, I daresay that the tragic historical events that transpired on September 11, 2001 are bound to be eventually identified by future historians as the official benchmark closing the “Era of American Predominance”.
Nearly identical to the backstage upsurge of North America during the late Nineteenth century, in “copy-cat” format, the People’s Republic of China appears to be “setting the foundations” to make its claim in the prominent role of World Super Power, as it has been aggressively poising itself as the next Global Leader – yet, I daresay the Chinese Communist Party does not seem to be moving along in the same discrete fashion as its predecessor, exactly one century ago.