Is India a great power or a middle power?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Usually the following countries are considered "great powers": the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom (recognized nuclear states and permanent members of the UN Security Council), Germany and Japan (largely due to their economies). India sure likes to describe herself as a "great power", but does it meet the criteria? It is already a great power or emerging power (like Brazil)?

[Pennsylvania Deplorable]

India isn't a great power yet, but its massive population almost certainly guarantees that it will become one, barring civil war or a sudden switch to extreme socialist economics.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

India isn't a great power yet, but its massive population almost certainly guarantees that it will become one, barring civil war or a sudden switch to extreme socialist economics.

It's interesting that India might've very well ended up as a collection of sovereign princely states/emancipated colonies instead of one country (well, two and then three, due to Pakistan). Many maharajas and local notables looked forward to rule their own independent states.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I'd say it's a middle power like Germany, Japan, and Brazil.

It's interesting that India might've very well ended up as a collection of sovereign princely states/emancipated colonies instead of one country (well, two and then three, due to Pakistan). Many maharajas and local notables looked forward to rule their own independent states.

Between Pakistan and republicanism, there was no chance of the maharajas maintaining control once independence happened.  Without Pakistan, a federal India might have happened.

[Kingpoleon]

Great Powers: United States, Russia, China
Middle Powers: United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Japan, Brazil

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

Because they'd have to agree to their demotion?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Great Powers: United States, Russia, China
Middle Powers: United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Japan, Brazil

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

Both France and the UK still can project power the way other countries you've included cannot.

And if anything the Security Council should include more permanent members... or preferably no permanent members with veto power.

[Kingpoleon]

Great Powers: United States, Russia, China
Middle Powers: United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Japan, Brazil

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

Both France and the UK still can project power the way other countries you've included cannot.

And if anything the Security Council should include more permanent members... or preferably no permanent members with veto power.

I think adding Germany, India, Brazil, and maybe Japan, and then giving any three members veto power, would make the most sense. Of course, it would also give us a monopoly on whatever we wanted to do.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Great Powers: United States, Russia, China
Middle Powers: United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Japan, Brazil

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

Both France and the UK still can project power the way other countries you've included cannot.

And if anything the Security Council should include more permanent members... or preferably no permanent members with veto power.

And then the U.N. would become even more useless? I agree that the great power rule thing is problematic, but the equality of power between all countries just leads the U.N. to be useless. I mean, when a bunch of Arabic and African powers can gang up and do whatever they want, like declaring that Zionism=Racism, why would actually... you know, useful countries that keep the U.N. alive, like the United States, remain in an organization that does nothing useful for them in return?

[EPG]

Here are some criteria India would need to meet before becoming a great power. Non-exhaustive:
1. Significant influence on world affairs. E.g., Japan is not really a great power any more.
2. Significant prestige. India is a very non-prestigious state, despite its significant contributions to human history, like numerals, and its big English-speaking population and media.
2a. This low status is probably related to the terrible standard of living for hundreds of millions of citizens.
2b. The large diaspora may reduce incentives for media to export cultural products that appeal to ethnic non-Indians.
3. A country as strongly federal as India may perhaps, in fact, never quite become a great power. India's strong federalism has been good for democracy, but not for the power of New Delhi.

[Tintrlvr]

Great Powers: United States, Russia, China
Middle Powers: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, India, Japan, Brazil

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

Otherwise agree with your list.

[Sir Mohamed]

Great Powers: United States, Russia, China
Middle Powers: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, India, Japan, Brazil

I don’t get why we still have the U. K. and France as Permanent Members.

Otherwise agree with your list.

This one. You may add the European Union to great powers, because it's more populated than U.S. and a similar BIP.

[mvd10]

Superpower: US, maybe China
Great power: China (if not superpower), Russia, France, UK, Germany (China and Russia are significantly ahead of the EU3)
Middle powers: Brazil, India, Japan, etc

[TDAS04]

Option 3.

Superpower: US, maybe China
Great power: China (if not superpower), Russia, France, UK, Germany (China and Russia are significantly ahead of the EU3)
Middle powers: Brazil, India, Japan, etc

Why don't you consider Japan a great power, but you consider Germany as one?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Great power: China (if not superpower), Russia, France, UK, Germany (China and Russia are significantly ahead of the EU3)

Not in terms of economy (Russia).

[mvd10]

Option 3.

Superpower: US, maybe China
Great power: China (if not superpower), Russia, France, UK, Germany (China and Russia are significantly ahead of the EU3)
Middle powers: Brazil, India, Japan, etc

Why don't you consider Japan a great power, but you consider Germany as one?

Their dominance of the EU. Germany lets France and the UK play with the guns abroad, but in EU matters Germany clearly is the top dog.

Great power: China (if not superpower), Russia, France, UK, Germany (China and Russia are significantly ahead of the EU3)

Not in terms of economy (Russia).

Yeah, perhaps you're right. The Russian economy is weak. But European military capabilities really don't compare to whatever Russia has.

[EPG]

Russia poisons people with nerve agents, with impunity, in Britain. Even if Russia's not a great power, and I definitely think it's one of three, what does that make the UK?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Great power: China (if not superpower), Russia, France, UK, Germany (China and Russia are significantly ahead of the EU3)

Not in terms of economy (Russia).

Yeah, perhaps you're right. The Russian economy is weak. But European military capabilities really don't compare to whatever Russia has.

That's right. Russia is a great power because of their military capabilities and having natural resources. However it's kind of "hanging on a thread" situation. Russia haven't diversified their economy, operating under the assumption "why manufacture if we can buy by gas/oil money?"... which was OK before sanctions came. They can't now buy spare parts to some of their crucial military hardware, while having no capability to manufacture ones.

European powers (France, Germany, UK, Italy) are great powers primarily because of the economic capabilities, although France and the UK, and to somewhat lesser degree Italy, still have capabilities to project military power. If we'd consider the EU as one entity, we'd have an economic superpower, but hardly military one that could rival with the US/Russia/China.

BTW, there's one more obstacle Russia is facing in regard to project power: naval access. Yes, they sure have a long coastline BUT northern ports (Murmansk) are frozen most of the time. St. Petersburg is freezing in winter and the only ice-free port in the Baltics in teritorially detached Kaliningrad... and even so NATO can easily block Danish straits, as well as the Turkish straits. Vladivostok is freezing in winter too.

And this is pretty much why they went crazy over Crimea: a crucial ice-free port, even though to access high seas they have to go through strategic choke points (Bophorus, Gibraltar, Suez).

[TheSaint250]

I'd say it's emerging, but it is still an interesting situation here.

[dead0man]

Yeah, perhaps you're right. The Russian economy is weak. But European military capabilities really don't compare to whatever Russia has.

They only top the EU in number of nuclear warheads (granted, that is very important, but if the EU has enough to destroy Russia then the actual numbers aren't as important...and they do), by every other metric, the EU is way ahead of Russia militarily.  The EU has better friends too.