Abstract
There have been many attempts to systematise elements that form the power of the state, and bring them into one formula of power. Military experts have been working on the invention of such formulas since the 1950s. Many scientists have noted the unreliability of the results of previous national power calculations. Their doubts are caused by the complexity of calculating factors and indicators such as the “will to pursue national strategy”. One of the indices for assessing the power and potential of a country is the general geographic size index (GSI). GSI includes only three components: area, population and economic strength, without considering political power and culture, which are difficult to assess. These indicators may seem primitive for calculating state power, but they have several important advantages: there is data for almost all countries, they do not require expert assessment and they are reliable. GSI clearly illustrates changes in the world power balance and the dynamics of countries’ development.
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Tikunov, V.S., Chereshnya, O.Y. (2014). The Geographical Size of a Country and Methods for Its Calculation and Mapping. In: Bandrova, T., Konecny, M., Zlatanova, S. (eds) Thematic Cartography for the Society. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08180-9_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08180-9_11
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