The old image of a superpower was once almost mythic. Vast armies, towering industrial capacity, nuclear arsenals, global cultural reach and the ability to shape the political destiny of entire regions. For much of the twentieth century, the world appeared dominated by such giants — first through the rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union, and later through the seemingly unrivaled influence of the United States after the Cold War. More recently, China emerged as a third gravitational force, while Russia sought to reclaim remnants of its former stature.
Yet the turbulence of the past decade has raised an intriguing question: are modern superpowers no longer truly super in the way they once were?
