Zaradi's Prized Debate Tournament Quarterfinal - TN05 vs. 9spaceking

Framework Before we begin to debate, we must first establish what it means to be a 'world power'. The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines 'world power' as "a country that is powerful enough to affect the entire world by its influence or actions".[1] The Cambridge Academic Conent Dictionary defines 'world power' as "a country that has enough economic, military, and political strength to influence events in many other countries".[2] The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'world power' as "a country that has significant influence in international affairs".[3] Therefore, I posit that my burden of proof is as follows: *Establish the United States as a major economic power *Establish the United States as a major millitary power *Establish the United States as a major political power If I do so, and refute my opponents arguments, I will have fufilled my burden of proof. In this round, my primary focus will be on establishing these points. Contention 1 - The United States is a major economic power The first criteria to being a world power is economic strength - is the United States a major economic power? The answer is yes. The United States has the largest nominal GDP in the world at roughly $16.8 trillion (nearly 25% of the world's total nominal GDP). That's over $7.5 trillion more than second-place China and nearly as much as the entire European Union.[4] The United States has a per capita GDP of over $53,000, the tenth-highest in the World and by far the largest among counties with over 100 million people,[5] and it is also sixth in median GDP with over $45,000.[6] American boasts a workforce that is among the most efficient in the world[7] and a large manufacturing sector,[8] and it leads the world in scientific research.[9] By all accounts, the United States is not just any economic power - it is the largest economic power in the world. Contention 2 - The United States is a major military power Not only does the United States rank as the leading economic power, it is also the leading military power. In 2013, the United States spent $640 billion (37% of the world's total military spending) on the military - as the pie chart shows, that's three times as much as China and nearly as much as the rest of the top 10 spent combined.[10] The US spends over $2,000 per capita on the military - that's the most in the world.[11] The United States has the world's third-largest active military and eighth-largest reserve military.[12] Not only does the United States have a strong military budget and active-duty personnel, it also has among the most military equipment in the world; the United States ranks very highly in the following groups:[13] *Battle tanks (3rd) *Aircraft carriers (1st) *Amphibious ships (3rd) *Cruisers (1st) *Destroyers (1st) *Frigates (4th) *Nuclear submarines (1st) *Combat aircraft (2nd) *Attack helicopters (1st) *Nuclear weapons (2nd) And that's just the start. That doesn't count the high quality firearms and explosives that the United States uses, for instance. However, it is worth noting that the large stockpile of nuclear weapons makes it very difficuly for any country to justify a direct attack on the United States; one could make a reasonable argument that, in that regard, any country with even a moderate stockpile of nuclear weapons is a world power. In addition to this blunt force, the United States has a number of key allies throughout the world that help establish it as a world leader. The United States is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),[14] a military alliance between 28 nations throughout the North Atlantic.[15] As a member of NATO, the United States is not only obliged to come to the aid of other countries in the event of an attack, but, more importantly, is also entitled to that protection.[16] NATO collectively accounts for 70% of the world's defense spending,[17] over half of which comes from the United States.[10] As the largest member of NATO, the United States wields considerable global influence throughout not only the North Atlantic area, but also throughout the entire world. In short, the United States military is second to none in terms of spending, has one of the largest groups of active and reserve military personnel in the world, has one of the most impressive stockpiles of military weapons (including hundreds of naval and air force craft) in the world, and is bolstered by its NATO alliance that ensures the full weight of 27 others nations would fall upon anyone who attacks it. To say the United States is the single largest military power in the world would actually be understating how powerful it is. Contention 3 - The United States is a major political power Political power is a tricky thing to discuss. For the purposes of this debate, I will define it as "the ability of influence the actions of other states or the international community". In that regard, the US is undoubtably politically powerful. The United States is closely aligned with the Australia, Canada, Isreal, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the Phillippines, and the United Kingdom.[17] Additionally, the United States is a strong ally of the European Union and a member of NATO, and has established free trade agreements with many countries.[17] Moreover, the US is completely in charge of the defense of three nations in the South Pacific - Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau.[17] The United States is the single-largest funder of the United Nations, and spends more than twice as much on the UN as any other country.[18] The UN headquarters are located in New York City,[19] and the United States is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the single most powerful body of the UN. As a permanent member, the United States can veto any action it disapproves of, and that veto cannot be overriden. In other words, any major world action must have US consent in order to happen.[20] United States political power is so strong it is often considered to be the world's policeman.[21] Conclusion In short, the United States is most certainly a world power. It has the world's largest economy, best military, and is one of the most influental nations policially. It is almost silly to suggest otherwise - how can a nation with a GDP of nearly $17 trillion, a large, well-funded and well-equipped standing army, and vast connections to other countries and international organizations notbe a superpower, let alone a world power? I look forward to see how my opponent argues his case, but I think it is fairly clear that that United States meets the criteria of 'world power'. References 1. http://www.merriam-webster.com... 2. http://dictionary.cambridge.org... 3. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... 4. https://en.wikipedia.org...(nominal) 5. https://en.wikipedia.org...(PPP)_per_capita 6. http://www.gallup.com... 7. http://www.cbsnews.com... 8. http://www.aamfg.org... 9. http://www.openaccessweek.org... 10. http://books.sipri.org... 11. https://en.wikipedia.org... 12. https://en.wikipedia.org... 13. https://en.wikipedia.org... 14. http://www.nato.int... 15. https://en.wikipedia.org... 16. https://en.wikipedia.org... 17. https://en.wikipedia.org... 18. http://www.un.org... 19. https://en.wikipedia.org... 20. https://www.globalpolicy.org... 21. http://www.cnn.com...