And by the way, this is why China is not a superpower. It doesn’t export ideas, a lifestyle that anybody wants to imitate, or technology. All it has to offer is products of cheap labor. And that doesn’t a superpower make.
India has a higher potential in this regard. It has the ideas and the tech. Now all that’s left is exporting an attractive lifestyle.
Well, China may not be a superpower, but it’s currently the regional bully in Asia, thumbing its nose at Obama (who isn’t?), and building artificial islands with military bases on them in disputed waters.
Japan is so terrified of China that the Japanese have finally come to their senses and abandoned their ridiculous pacifistic constitutional restrictions against having a real military that’s capable of fighting its own battles.
It’s a same that the nations of Western Europe aren’t sufficiently alarmed by the behavior of another bullying non-superpower to do the same.
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Japan is so terrified of China that the Japanese have finally come to their senses and abandoned their ridiculous pacifistic constitutional restrictions against having a real military that’s capable of fighting its own battles.
I’m not sure how voluntary those restrictions were instead of entirely due to conditions set forth by the United States withdrawal from Japan.
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According to the article that you linked, General MacArthur disarmed what was left of the Japanese military after WWII, but when the U.S. military occupation ended, the Japanese government chose on its own not to rebuild its military.
Then when the Korean War started, U.S. forces stationed in Japan moved to South Korea, leaving Japan technically defenseless (but protected by a then-reliable treaty with America and by the U.S. nuclear umbrella, just like the free-loading NATO countries in Western Europe).
The U.S. actually began encouraging Japan to rearm in the early 1950’s to help counter the threat of global Communism — but the Japanese didn’t take the hint and amend their constitution until this year, when they finally realized that Obama won’t defend them, or any other ally.
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The cultural superpower in East Asia seems to be South Korea (at least it was a few years ago).
In the middle East it’s Turkey (or Turkey was poised to be that before W broke the region).
In Subsaharan Africa ….. maybe Nigeria?
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For a while at least, South Korea was the economic superpower in Asia. When I was stationed in Korea in 1980, I bought an internationally famous brand of Korean running shoes at a Korean store just off-base for $3. At the time, that same brand was selling in the U.S. for over $50.
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I think South Korea is doing very well when it comes to cultural influence. The Korean program at my university has been growing like crazy. In just a few years they went from offering just one, half-filled section of beginning Korean each year to offering six or seven sections. We offer seventeen languages on our campus; Korean used to have one of the smallest enrollments, but it’s now solidly in the top half, just slightly behind German, Italian, and Japanese. If the growth continues, it could easily take the #3 spot in the next few years.
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More likely South Africa. Nollywood is still somewhat popular as are some Nigerian singers, but Nigerian music is far, far, far less dynamic today than it was in the 1970s when Fela Kuti and others had a truly international presence. Nigeria is also not liked or viewed as a model by any of its neighbors. For may Ghanaians Nigeria is a synomyn for corruption. It is also losing ground in film to other African countries. Nollywood has been replaced in much of Africa by local film industries. This is certainly the case in Ghana and Golly wood. In contrast the legacy of Mandela as well as the fact that a huge amount of retail products and outlets throughout Africa are South African gives them a more pronounced and positive presence here and in other parts of Africa.
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I dont see it happening. The more attractive parts of Indian culture come with too much cultural dead weight. I enjoy some Indian movie songs (esp from the South) but find getting through a full movie to be a chore (starting with the question ‘Do I have three hours to spare now?’ ….. no)
Also IIRC rapid Indian development had started to stall a couple of years ago. A lot of the impressive growth was low hanging fruit (goals that once recognized are easily accomplished). There are huge problems that no one is even thinking of addressing.
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I should clarify that my previous comments use the export of popular culture as a stand in for overall cultural attractiveness.
Also I’m interested in regional actors as much as global (I have very little in global popular culture).
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You don’t have to have ideas when you’re flying under a flag of convenience …
After all, China is very, very convenient.
Concierge bespoke electronic design and development services in Shenzhen?
OH YES PLZ … and I’ll bring the silly ideas. 🙂
[admit to yourself you’ll buy next year’s plastic fun toy, whatever it is …]
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Excuse me, but what the hell are you talking about??? 🙂
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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