Potential superpower

A potential superpower is a sovereign state or other polity that is speculated to be or have the potential to become a superpower; a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position and can exert influence and project power on a global scale through economic, military, technological, political, or cultural means.

The United States is currently considered the world's foremost superpower, as it is the only country whose status as a superpower finds broad consensus, with some accounts calling it the only one. China, the European Union, India, and Russia have been discussed as potential superpowers of the 21st century; Japan was a former candidate in the 1980s.