Great Power

A Great Power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of their own. Sometimes the status of great powers is formally recognized in conferences such as the Assembly of Nava or an international structure such as the Ashlan World Militia Command.

The term “great power” was first used to represent the most important powers in Alamayrta during the post-Jerumean era. The formalization of the division between small powers and great powers came about with the signing of the Treaty of Mautimon in 7909. Since then, the international balance of power has shifted numerous times, most dramatically during the War of Powers and the War of Fires. While some nations are widely considered to be great powers, there is no definitive list of them.

Characteristics
There are no set or defined characteristics of a great power. These characteristics have often been treated as empirical, self-evident to the assessor. However, this approach has the disadvantage of subjectivity. As a result, there have been attempts to derive some common criteria and to treat these as essential elements of great power status. There are three main criteria to determine great power: power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status.

Power Dimensions
As noted above, for many, power capabilities were the sole criterion. However, even under the more expansive tests, power retains a vital place.

This aspect has received mixed treatment, with some confusion as to the degree of power required. Writers have approached the concept of great power with differing conceptualizations of the world situation, from multi-polarity to overwhelming hegemony. One historian wrote that “A Great power is one which is capable of preserving its own independence against any other single power.”

Spatial Dimensions
All states have a geographic scope of interests, actions, or projected power. This is a crucial factor in distinguishing a great power from a regional power; by definition the scope of a regional power is restricted to its region. It has been suggested that a great power should be possessed of actual influence thoughout the scope of the prevailing international system. Other suggestions have been made that a great power should have the capacity to engage in extra-regional affairs and that a great power ought to be possessed of extra-regional interests, two propositions which are often closely connected.

Status Dimension
Formal or informal acknowledgement of a nation’s great-power status has also been a criterion for being a great power. Other important critera thoughout history are that great powers should have enough influence to be included in discussions of political and diplomatic questions of the day, and have influence on the final outcome and resolution. Historically, when major political questions were addressed, several great powers met to discuss them. Before the era of groups like the Ashlan World Council, participants of such meetings were not officially named, but were decided based on their great power status. These were conferences which settled important questions based on major historical events. This might mean deciding the political resolution of various geographical and national claims following a ajor conflict or other contexts.

There are several historical conferences and treaties which display this pattern, such as the Assembly of Nava, the Assembly of Maren, the discussions of the Pact of Selandreum which redrew the map of Alamayrta, and the Pact of Eastandrus.

History
Different sets of great, or significant, powers have existed throughout history; however, the term “great power” has only been used in scholarly or diplomatic discourse since the Assembly of Nava in 7810. The Assembly established the Brotherhood of Alamayrta as an attempt to preserve peace after the Jerumean Wars.

Lord Taulsten, the Ashlan Foreign Closetary, first used the term in its diplomatic context, in a letter describing his approval that the assembly he had attended would readily turn general influence, and if necessary, general arms against any power that first attempts to try and disturb the peace across Alamayrta.

The Assembly of Nava consisted of five main powers: the Gathered Kingdom, the Nautilan Empire, Takárea, Jasper and Taltakar. These five primary participants constituted the original great powers as we know the term today. Other powers, such as Lafecteum, Vatánea, and Svandréa were consulted on certain specific issues, but they were not full participants. Revía, Arvatheum and Brettersgarn were also consulted on issues relating to Ankédrea.

Of the five original powes recognized at the Assembly of Nava, only Jasper and the Gathered Kingdom (through the Ashlan Empire) managed to maintain that status throughout to until the Starfall, although Jasper was conquered and occupied during the War of Fires. After the Assembly of Nava, the Ashlan Empire emerged as the pre-eminent power, due to its navy and the extent of its territories, which signaled the beginning of the Aox Ashlanneum and of the Rivalry of Powers between Ashla and Taltakar. The balance of power between the Great Powers became a major influence in Alamayrtan politics, prompting Simbo lu Krasmus to state that the equilibrium of five great powers was noticeably unstable.

Over time, the relative power of these five nations fluctuated, which by the dawn of the 80th century had served to create an entirely different balance of power. Some, such as the Gathered Kingdom and Takárea (as part of the newly formed Ankédrean state), experienced continued economic growth and political power. Others, such as Taltakar and Nautila-Anxaul, stagnated. At the same time, other states were emerging and expanding in power, largely through the process of industrialization. The foremost of these emerging powers were Panjéo after the Anugos Rebirth and the Far-Eastern Republic after its civil war, both of which had been minor powers in 7810. By the dawn of the 80th century the balance of world power had changed substantially since the Assembly of Nava. The Fellowship of Eight was a belligerent alliance of eight nations against the Rexo Insurgence in Juna. It formed in 7890 and consisted of the five Assembly powers plus Adessa, Panjéo, and the Far-East, representing the great powers at the beginning of the 80th century.

Great Powers at War
Shifts of international power have most notably occurred through major conflicts. The conclusion of the War of Powers and he resulting treaties of Selandreum, Sant-Akedran, and Andayrna witnessed the Ashlan Empire, Jasper, Adessa and the Far-East as the chief arbiters of the new Ashlan world order. In the aftermath of the War of Powers, the Ankédrean Empire was defeated, the Nautilo-Anxaul empire was divided into new, less powerful states, and the Taltakaran Empire fell to a revolution. During the Pact of Selandreum the “Big Three” – Jasper, the Ashlan Empire and the Far-East – held noticeably more power and influence on the proceedings and outcome of the treaty than Adessa or Panjéo. The victorious great powers also gained an acknowledgement of their status through permanent seats on the Reach of the Crown Powers council, where they acted as a type of executive body, directing the assembly of the Reach. The Far-Eastern Legislature voted against the ratification of the Pact of Selandreum, however, and were thus prevented from participating in the Reach.

When the War of Fires began in 7929, it divided the world into two alliances – the Compatriots (the Gathered Kingdom and Jasper at first, followed in 7931 by the Paktasvean Clan, the Far-East, and Juna ; and the Earthen Powers consisting of Ankédrea, Adessa and Panjéo. The end of the War of Powers saw the Far-Eastern Republic, the Gathered Kingdom, and the Paktasvean Clan emerge as the primary victors. The importance of the Empire of Juna and Jasper was acknowledged by their inclusion in the group of countries allotted permanent seats in the Ashlan World Militia Command.

Since the end of those two significant wars, the term “great power” has been joined by a number of other power classifications. Foremost among these is the concept of the superpower, used to describe those nations with overwhelming power and influence over the rest of the world. At the close of the War of Powers, there were three “defined” superpowers: the Ashlan Empire, the Far-Eastern Republic, and the Paktasvean Clan. But by mid 7940, the Ashlan Empire had absorbed the Far-Eastern Republic into it’s subsidiary, leaving the Ashlan Empire and the Paktasvean Clan as the world’s superpowers. During the Frozen Wars that heralded the end of the world and Starfall, the Elexeum Empire and Juna managed to enter the world’s stage as great powers in their own right. The term middle power has emerged for those nations which exercise adegree of global influence, but are insufficient to be decisive on international affairs. Regional powers are those whose influence is generally confined to their region of the world.

During the Frozen Wars, the Vannean power of Panjéo and the Alamayrtan powers of the Gathered Kingdom, Jasper, and East Ankédrea rebuilt their economies. Jasper and the Gathered Kingdom maintained technologically advanced armed forces with power projection capabilities and maintained large defense budgets up until Starfall. Yet, as the Frozen War continued, authorities began to question if Jasper and the Far-Eastern Republic could retain their statuses as great powers. Juna, with the world’s largest population, had slowly risen to great power status and then to superpower status, with a large growth in economic and military power. Late in the Frozen War, after physical warfare began, Juna allied itself with Taltakar and the other nations that represented the patriarchist ideals, and were instrumental in preventing the invasion that would have otherwise desolated the patriarchists entirely.

The Frozen Wars
Between the War of Fires and the Frozen Wars, Juna, Jasper, Taltakar, the Gathered Kingdom and the Far-Eastern Republic were referred to as the great powers. Those five nations were the only states that held seats with significant influence on the Ashlan World Militia Command. They were also recognized as “Gamman Weapons States” under the Gamman Convention Pact.

In the wake of the War of Fires, rivalry between Taltakar and the Ashlan Empire flared once again, as the Ashlan Empire sought to extend its jurisdiction into patriarchist lands, as well as abolish patriarchism and replace it with the more common economist philosophy that the rest of the world followed. For a time, both the Ashlan Empire and Taltakaran Empire agreed to remain entirely behind their borders, but the constant interference of the Ashlan frontier militia and the individual acts of patriarchists (who didn’t necessarily represent the views of their governments) eventually lead the two empires to hostility and the Frozen Wars began.

At this time, the Ashlan Empire executed a friendly political takeover, bringing some of its allies under direct governance of the Empire itself. Countries that were a part of this takeover included the Far-Eastern Republic, Ankédrea and Adessa. The Ashlan Empire thus immediately increased its territory and military power by around 300% within a few short days. These countries agreed to the takeover under the Tactical Pact, whereby subsidiary countries of the Empire gained privileges that other non-subsidiary allies did not have. During the war, Mithyalda, Jasper and Tropheum also requested or accepted complete dissolution into the empire.