# Who would be the world's WORST superpower? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893 "2005-10-19T13:43:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/1 "2005-10-19T13:43:08Z")
The thread on the world’s best pick for superpower status invites a thread on world’s worst. And why they’d be the worst. Worst being whatever you think it might be. My pick: Saudi Arabia. A feudal aristocracy with a bad human rights record and a strong, virulent fundamentalist strain of Islam. Sexism at its worst. Sure, Mugabe down in Zimbabwe is just frigging NUTS, but he’s kind of a one-time deal and as soon as someone puts that bullet he urgently needs in his skull in place, things will get better in Zimbabwe, if only a little bit better. The House of Saud has 30,000 princes, all ready to move all over the world and set up satrapies and harems (that how they got the 30,000 princes in the first place) and run things the Wahhabi way. China would suck too, but they’d treat us very nicely until the day they decided it was time to shipt a few hundred million people into your country and let them take everything you have (see: Tibet.) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/2 "2005-10-19T13:54:30Z")
My vote: North Korea. Totalitarian regime & personality cult. Doesn’t get much worse than in a superpower. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/3 "2005-10-19T13:55:16Z")
The Sudan. Kindly check out the Slave Trade, the religious persecutions, the wholesale massacres, the economic mismanagement, the open corruption, the overt lies. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/4 "2005-10-19T14:28:36Z")
Let’s see…it would have to be a country that randomly interferes with the internal affairs of other countries, one with a history of reckless adventurism and imperialism. It would have to be somewhere where there is a monolithic government unresponsive to the needs and wants of the people. This evil superpower should be filled with intolerant religious extremists, and it should have a very poor record when it comes to human rights abuses like discrimination against minorities, gay rights, executing children, etc. It should spend a disproportionate amount of its GNP on weapons, and be run by an ideologue. Oh, wait… Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/5 "2005-10-19T14:56:19Z")
Silenus: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/6 "2005-10-19T15:09:23Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Silenus: :rolleyes: I agree that he would be among the about the worst superpower imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/7 "2005-10-19T15:15:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Let’s see…it would have to be a country that randomly interferes with the internal affairs of other countries, one with a history of reckless adventurism and imperialism. It would have to be somewhere where there is a monolithic government unresponsive to the needs and wants of the people. This evil superpower should be filled with intolerant religious extremists, and it should have a very poor record when it comes to human rights abuses like discrimination against minorities, gay rights, executing children, etc. It should spend a disproportionate amount of its GNP on weapons, and be run by an ideologue. > > Oh, wait… > > Never mind. While we may not be doing a great job, we could be doing so much worse. Think about the Saudi’s, Syria, North Korea, Pakistan even, many African nations, Haiti or of course France. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/8 "2005-10-19T15:45:07Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > While we may not be doing a great job, we could be doing so much worse. > > Think about the Saudi’s, Syria, North Korea, Pakistan even, many African nations, Haiti or of course France. 😉 No argument there. I mourn for lost opportunities, though. We could be doing so much _better_… ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/9 "2005-10-19T15:45:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Let’s see…it would have to be a country that randomly interferes with the internal affairs of other countries, one with a history of reckless adventurism and imperialism. It would have to be somewhere where there is a monolithic government unresponsive to the needs and wants of the people. This evil superpower should be filled with intolerant religious extremists, and it should have a very poor record when it comes to human rights abuses like discrimination against minorities, gay rights, executing children, etc. It should spend a disproportionate amount of its GNP on weapons, and be run by an ideologue. > > Oh, wait… > > Never mind. Please, get a grip. Do you honestly think that the US is in the same league as North Korea et al? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/10 "2005-10-19T15:47:35Z")
> [@PeterWiggen](#): > > My vote: North Korea. Totalitarian regime & personality cult. Doesn’t get much worse than in a superpower. I was thinking North Korea would be another “kill the leader and maybe things get better” but as I understand it there are a shitload of military types who would probably just step in and be as totalitarian as ever, though I don’t know if they’d be as batshit crazy as Kim Jong Il. In short, N. Korea has a systemic problem, like Saudi Arabia. So they’d be right up there. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/11 "2005-10-19T15:59:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No argument there. I mourn for lost opportunities, though. We could be doing so much _better_… We still might, the curtain hasn’t closed on the USA yet. We can rise above this current administrations stupidity and corruption and maybe make the world a better place. Plus even at its worst and as much as I hate the Bush/Cheney Admin. The world is probably a better place with the Taliban & Saddam out of power. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/12 "2005-10-19T16:01:48Z")
You are also going to have to define “superpower.” Neither North Korea nor Saudi Arabia has the economic capability of wielding power across the planet. Possession of nukes can’t be the qualifier, otherwise France would be on the list. So what makes a power “super?” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/13 "2005-10-19T16:33:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You are also going to have to define “superpower.” Neither North Korea nor Saudi Arabia has the economic capability of wielding power across the planet. Possession of nukes can’t be the qualifier, otherwise France would be on the list. So what makes a power “super?” Aliens decide that dealing with Earth will be much easier under a single unified world government. So they pick a regime that will do _anything_ the aliens say in exchange for global power, and hand them invincible super-weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/14 "2005-10-19T16:36:44Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > The Sudan. > > Kindly check out the Slave Trade, the religious persecutions, the wholesale massacres, the economic mismanagement, the open corruption, the overt lies. You’ve got a point about the Sudan. Ethnic cleansing attempts are generally indications that the government in charge is dangerous and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/15 "2005-10-19T16:52:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You are also going to have to define “superpower.” Neither North Korea nor Saudi Arabia has the economic capability of wielding power across the planet. Possession of nukes can’t be the qualifier, otherwise France would be on the list. So what makes a power “super?” A superpower is a nation with an army that can travel anywhere on the planet and kick any other army’s ass. Simple as that. A matter of force. And we’re not asking who COULD be a superpower – the list there is pretty short – but who would make the worst superpower, if they had the kind of force capability the US has right now? As for nukes, possession of nukes alone doesn’t make you a superpower, as you say. They’re primarily a defensive weapon at present. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/16 "2005-10-19T16:52:46Z")
It’s gotta be North Korea. This is a country that apparantly took 1984 as a blueprint for how to run a country, much like those Star Trek TOS guys who found a book on the Chicago mob. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/17 "2005-10-19T17:45:11Z")
Following the OP’s clarification - North Korea or Chad. What a choice - homicidal or terminally corrupt. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/18 "2005-10-19T18:14:56Z")
I was going to say “X-ray vision that you couldn’t turn off, so you wound up seeing through your eyelids while you tried to sleep, and everywhere you looked all you’d see is the eternity of the cosmos, so eventually you’d go batshit insane”. Turns out I took the headline in a completely different manner than intended. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/19 "2005-10-19T18:45:18Z")
Actually, I’d put my money on Somalia or the Sierra Leone of a few years ago. I think it’d be an interesting experiment in international politics to have a superpower that flexes its muscles internationally while being in a state of anarchy at home. It would certainly lead to an interesting foreign policy. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893/20 "2005-10-19T18:51:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You are also going to have to define “superpower.” Neither North Korea nor Saudi Arabia has the economic capability of wielding power across the planet. Possession of nukes can’t be the qualifier, otherwise France would be on the list. So what makes a power “super?” The _entire country_…must wear capes! [sub]Oh Edna! Edna Mode?[/sub] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-worlds-worst-superpower/326893.md?page=2)