Superpower

From Metapedia

A superpower is a state with a leading position in the international system and the ability to influence events and project power on a worldwide scale; it is considered a higher level of power than a great power. It was a term first applied in 1944 to the United States, the Soviet Union, and the British Empire. Following World War II, the British Empire ceased to exist as its territories became independent, and the Soviet Union and the United States were regarded as the only two superpowers, then engaged in the Cold War.

After the Cold War, the most common belief held that only the United States fulfilled the criteria to be considered a superpower. The People's Republic of China, India, the European Union, and a couple of other candidates, however, appear to have the potential of achieving superpower status within the 21st century.