As I was writing a post in another topic earlier about Russia and their right to be a superpower, my mind rambled a bit and I started to wonder if Great Britain can ever become a political superpower on the international stage again.
90 years ago, the British Empire was accountable for approximately 25% of the entire worlds population, and Britain had control of 25% of the worlds landmass, therefore being able to completely dictate trade routes and international relations. A lot has changed in 90 years, clearly.
In 2008, Great Britian controls very little in the way of overseas territories, and have a population of only 58,000,000 residents, many having moved into the UK from other countries. We also seem to be losing the ability to defend ourselves politically, being subservient to the United States in their quest to capture resources, and being a part of the European Union, often have to accept group decisions that the country does not agree with or benefit from in any way.
So, with all this in mind, can Britain ever become a superpower again if desired? I know that we clearly will never compete with China in terms of population, but is there any way to maximise the economic power of the nation in order to compete in terms of financial position and ability to develop and expand faster and more sustainably than other nations?
Also, what would be the positives and negatives for the general population if it ever were to happen?