What does it take to be a Great Power?

[Jiraiyathegallant]

It's worth noting that location matters. A country like Austria-Hungary can influence the foreign policy of Russia, Italy, France, Germany, or The Ottoman Empire in places like the Middle East, East Asia, or the Pacific fairly easily by creating credible threats that can't be ignored in Europe and using those at the right time to get others to look out for certain things overseas for them. Russia can ultimately ignore Romania's position on things like their next wars with the Ottoman Empire for domination of the Middle East or Japan for domination of Northern China and Korea. But they cannot ignore Austria-Hungary.

Austria can ultimately exert strong influence indirectly on places they have no actual bases near by virtue of being able to use the worlds 4th strongest army to pressure their neighbors, who are in control of or interested in said far away lands.

Also, Austrian culture was deeply influential. Prestige is a big deal if you want to be a Great Power.

I'd also note that if Austria was located in Southern Africa they would not have a powerful army and mediocre navy, but would rather likely build themselves the other way around. Austria-Hungary had the first and second strongest armies in the world on their border, Italy (top 7 or so strongest) and two hostile little countries (Romania and Serbia) there as well, and France (third strongest army in the world) within striking distance. This means they have to prioritize land forces.

Austria-Hungary had the resources for a bigger military and could have tried focusing on an overseas empire if they wanted, but surrounded by Great Powers and hostile little countries, with the British having the ability to lock them inside the Med and Italy to the ability to bottle them up even further, it is kind of redundant to focus on building a badass navy or overseas empire.

 

[Napoleonrules]

Please remember that Austria-Hungary did project its power in China; in was a significant member of the international coalition that sent forces during the Boxer Rebellion and it had extra-legal rights along with a small territorial section as award. At that point in history being a member of that coalition really did signify that you were determined by the rest of the members to be a great power. We seem to be getting off track in the discussion conflating great power status with super power status. You dont need to be a post 1815 Britain or post-WWII USA; if you used those nations as examples you limit the number of super powers in all history to less than 5 and probably no more than 1 existing at a time. A super power is a great power in which you would need a large coalition of several of the next strongest nations to overcome it. Eg- Britain during its short-lived attempted policy of a navy as large as the next two largest navies combined; US having more aircraft carriers than the next five nations combined; US and USSR nuclear stockpiles.

A great power however doesn't need to be completely global or dominant. Until VERY recently, like within the 21st century, the PRC could not project global influence. And it honestly can't project global militarily for any given amount of time still. But it is a great power. Militarily the PRC projects as much as Austria-Hungary did; South China Sea is the PRC's Balkans equivalent.

A Great Power is what Bismark focused on instead of being a colonial power when he decided instead of grabbing colonies he wanted Germany to be the deciding international player that everyone had to get permission from in order to seize new territories and whom nations turned to for support in conflicts. Germany would have the power to decide between contestants in a dispute.

Regional Powers ARE great powers. There isn't a distinction which posters on here are trying to distinct.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Money, lots and lots of money.

 

[The Undead Martyr]

"Global" power is IMHO utterly unnecessary and limiting, for the vast majority of human history the political world was much smaller than it is.

China was absolutely a great power before the 19th century and also today, they routinely projected influence into Korea, Manchuria, Japan, Indonesia, Southeast and Central Asia for centuries, kicked out the Dutch when they stuck their nose in Taiwan, and forced European merchants and ambassadors to kowtow before them throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

Rome was absolutely a great power, straddling three continents and having influence as far south as Aden and as far north as Britain. So were many of the various iterations of Persia.
Ancient Egypt and Assyria were Bronze Age great powers.

The Mughals were a Great Power in India and modern Pakistan.

Taking Great Powers to have "global" influence or colonies or what have you is too limiting, and disregards the scale and logistical challenges of pre modern society. The further back you go the smaller great powers can be (and paradoxically the larger many of them get.)

I would add 14th and 15th century Hungary and Luxemburg Bohemia as great powers of their age, and the war torn wreckage of those kingdoms were the foundation for Habsburg power in the modern age. Venice also briefly qualifies as at least a major secondary power coming just shy of great power status in the 15th century and early 16th centuries.