The improving relations between the 6 powers...

[Farnan]

I'm amazed at how, in the last year, relations between the 6 Great Powers (Germany, France, UK, US, China and Russia) have come to an almost unheard of closeness.

US-Russian relations are becoming almost as good as they were in the 1990s when the US became Russia's benefactor. Russia has given up on trying to be a superpower (their recent military reforms have been stated as an attempt to change the Russian military to reflect its none superpower status), and the US and Russia have signed historic cooperation agreements. Russia has also begun to show major support for the Afghan War. Further, the number of UK-Russian incidents seem to have been reduced, and relationships between Merkel, Medvev and Sarkozy seem close. Russia and China maintain close relationships.

France and Germany have both begun to take up larger roles in Afghanistan, with Germany going on the offensive in the North and France placing a brigade (the Brigade La fayette) under American command in the East. France has also given out a statement rejecting abandoning the enterprise. Further France has rejoined NATO and Germany has decided it must take a more active role in the world as the US has been suggesting. Both nations have gained strong relations with Russia and none seem to have major issues with China. The US has supported the EU and has gained better relations with the two continental European powers.

China and the US, despite rhetoric, have become much closer on vital issues. China has increased its investment in Afghanistan, and the US have continued to support the Chinese economic interests. Both nations are also cooperating over North Korea with China playing good cop and the US bad cop. The US ambassador even made a public statement calling the US-China relationship the most important in the world.

[removeduser_4536284751384]

but there is nothing for them to disagree on.

Lets hope Georgia doesn't get too close to NATO, attack Russia again and then play the victim.

[xcorps]

Let's see how it looks in 10 years as China expands it's raw material imports.

[Vanoi]

Hopefully these warm relations will last between the 6 major powers of the world.

[hellheaven1987]

Hopefully this warm relation can last as long as WWIII comes, just like Great Power did before WWI.

[skh1]

I am pessimistic.

Vis à vis China
Taiwan, Tibet (more particulary the Dalai Lama- just wait until his successor needs to be appointed), currency manipulation, trade imbalance, South China Sea, North Korea, intellectual property rights, Pakistan vs India, disputed Senkaku (or Diaoyutai) Islands, etc.

As for Russia
The new START treaty (ball's in our court on this one), Iran, the Arctic, U.S. base in Kyrgyzstan, drug traffic out of Afghanistan, Russia's relationship with Chávez specifically and Russian policy in Latin America generally, the probable redux of Putin, etc.

The foreign policies of our three countries may be congruent at certain points at certain times but I think our long-term relations will always be chilled by each possessing fundamentally divergent interests.

We may hope for the appearance of diplomatic warming from time to time (which is not nothing) but that's about it.

[Azog 150]

US-Russian relations are becoming almost as good as they were in the 1990s when the US became Russia's benefactor. Russia has given up on trying to be a superpower (their recent military reforms have been stated as an attempt to change the Russian military to reflect its none superpower status), and the US and Russia have signed historic cooperation agreements. Russia has also begun to show major support for the Afghan War. Further, the number of UK-Russian incidents seem to have been reduced, and relationships between Merkel, Medvev and Sarkozy seem close. Russia and China maintain close relationships.

To add to this, William Hague (Our foreign secretary) has explicitly stated he is actively seeking better relations with Russia. The whole Litvinenko situation has more or less blown over. Saying that, Russia continues to fly bombers up to British airspace- its become pretty routine.

France and Germany have both begun to take up larger roles in Afghanistan, with Germany going on the offensive in the North and France placing a brigade (the Brigade La fayette) under American command in the East. France has also given out a statement rejecting abandoning the enterprise. Further France has rejoined NATO and Germany has decided it must take a more active role in the world as the US has been suggesting. Both nations have gained strong relations with Russia and none seem to have major issues with China. The US has supported the EU and has gained better relations with the two continental European powers.

Not only that, Britain has taken up more of a role in the EU and it has been announced that Britain and France are seeking much closer military ties

[Armenum]

The post-9/11 landscape has changed world politics from the remnants of the cold war mentality to unity against Islamic Terrorism, rogue governments, and unstable countries. Of course this unity is great, but the question is how long will such unity last until differences begin to re-emerge and the rivalry continues. The Georgia conflict was a test and the powers more or less passed. The Western alliance is very solid in my opinion (US-EU-NATO) the question is how long will that Western alliance hold with the other side (Russia-China).

[MAXlMUS]

france, germany, uk are powers?

lol

[Armenum]

france, germany, uk are powers?

lol

They used to be seperate strong powers, but today I would just lump them all into the Western/NATO alliance.

[Claudius Gothicus]

Optimism is always welcome.

I just hope that those countries(specially the US and the EU) continue to press forward reforms on the current economic global system so that for example the Western World stops feeding itself with oil from authoritarian countries such as Iran or Saudi Arabia, which presents a great contradiction for whe western morale.

[Armenum]

Optimism is always welcome.

I just hope that those countries(specially the US and the EU) continue to press forward reforms on the current economic global system so that for example the Western World stops feeding itself with oil from authoritarian countries such as Iran or Saudi Arabia, which presents a great contradiction for whe western morale.

Yes, though unfortunately these powers at this point don't have the luxury for such principles. On one hand, they seek to root out Islamic extremism and rogue government, but also have to cooperate at some degree with such governments in order to garner economic resources.

[Farnan]

france, germany, uk are powers?

lol

Germany is the world's 4th largest economy in the world, 7th largest in terms of military expenditures and unlike Japan its military is deployable.

France is the world's 5th largest economy, has the 3rd largest military budget, and has territory around the world.

The UK is the world's 6th largest economy, has the 4th largest military budget and has territory around the world.


By contrast Russia is the 11th largest economy and the 5th largest military budget.

Both France and the UK have far better claims to the status of Great Power than Russia, and Germany has a significantly better position if you consider the economy the most important measurement (as most studiers of international politics).

[MAXlMUS]

I'm amazed at how, in the last year, relations between the 6 Great Powers

you're basically putting them on level ground, which they aren't. usa, china, and maybe russia are the only great powers

Germany is the world's 4th largest economy in the world, 7th largest in terms of military expenditures and unlike Japan its military is deployable.

if you consider the economy the most important measurement (as most studiers of international politics).

i guess you answered your own question

By contrast Russia is the 11th largest economy and the 5th largest military budget.

but the russian army is stronger then all three combined, with a vast arsenal of nukes. they also have ample land and vast mineral ressources, whereas the uk, germany or france don't really have much. a few tiny islands in the pacific and the atlantics and a piece of the amazon dosen't amount to much. as for germany - don't you remember why the guy called hittler started the war?

i would consider japan or even india before either one of germany, uk or france (separately)

[Ragabash]

but the russian army is stronger then all three combined, with a vast arsenal of nukes. they also have ample land and vast mineral ressources, whereas the uk, germany or france don't really have much. a few tiny islands in the pacific and the atlantics and a piece of the amazon dosen't amount to much. as for germany - don't you remember why the guy called hittler started the war?

The number of nuclear weapons is quite unimportant in modern world. Their value is not in their numbers but simply being a determent and a sign of power. It doesn't matter do you have a thousand nuclear missiles or ten, their destructive capability is more than enough to hamstring a society. On Russian military, it's outdated and incompetent. The only reason why Russia remains as a military might is because of their nuclear arsenal. Their capability to project proper military operations is very limited.

Natural resources also mean very little in this globalized world. It's all the same where they are located if they are controlled by foreign companies with ties to foreign powers.

i would consider japan or even india before either one of germany, uk or france (separately)

You would, many other wouldn't.

[Jaketh]

good, now we just need one big joint space program between us all and we can finally move on

[YuriVII]

Great powers coming to detente. Its 2010. Wow. Getting close the 100th anniversary of WWI there isn't it? But it's not like the status quo is acceptable either.

good, now we just need one big joint space program between us all and we can finally move on

Its called ISS.

[Jaketh]

Its called ISS.

fairly sure that NASA built that on its own

[Gromovnik]

lol, I like it how the dick waving contest has already begun...
btw. only 6 Great Powers? what happened to the other two?

[Jom]

lol, I like it how the dick waving contest has already begun...
btw. only 6 Great Powers? what happened to the other two?

I assume you're referring to the G8, in which case the two which are missing are Japan and Canada, neither of whom have very formidable military capabilities.