Great Power

The term Great Power refers to a sovereign state that possesses the ability to exert significant influence on global affairs through a combination of military, economic, and diplomatic strength. Great powers are recognized by their performance on the battlefield.

The classic model of an international system is the European Pentarchy in 1815-1890. Of the five powers, France emerged first, with the defeat of Spanish imperialism in 1648. Austria emerged second, with the destruction of Ottoman power in Europe during the 1690s, culminating in the conquest of Belgrade and the Peace of Carlowitz in 1699. Great Britain emerged third, beginning with the Dutch takeover of the English state in 1688, consolidated during the struggle against Louis XIV, culminating in the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. Russia emerged soon after in 1721, with Peter the Great's decisive defeat of Sweden in the Great Northern War. Brandenburg-Prussia was the last to emerge with Frederick the Great's military victories in the Seven Years War, culminating in the Peace of Hubertusburg of 1763 whereby the extant great powers recognized the Prussian conquest of Silesia.