Do global superpowers reflect the 'north-south' divide?

Global superpowers can be defined as states which are powerful on the global stage, both explicitly through their role in global institutions such as the UN and implicitly through their influence. Since the Cold War the world has gone from a 'bipolar' world with two major superpowers, namely the USA and Russia, to a unipolar world with the USA the main superpower. There have since, however, been shifts to a more multipolar world with the rise of the so-called BRICS; Brazil, Russia, India and China. With the USA still being the worlds primary superpower, and western European nations such as Britain, France and Germany, still being influential nations, this would reflect teh 'north-south' divide with these countries being positioned in the global north. With the ris of the BRICS, all apart from Russia in the 'global south', this is challenging this narrative. China is now the second largest economy in the world and India the wrlds largest democracy. These countries are influential in both global and regional politics. Overall it is therefore too simplistic to state that global superpowers refelct the northsouth divide.

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Answered by Phoebe R. Geography tutor

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