What is the comprehensive national strength of a country?

(1) Territory The size, location and topography of the national territory are not only of great value in national defense, but also of great significance in economy, so they are the most basic elements of comprehensive national strength. Next, we will analyze the important position of national territory in comprehensive national strength from the geographical location, area size and topography of the country. 1. Geographical location: Geographical location can be subdivided into natural geographical location, traffic geographical location and national defense geographical location. (1) Natural geographical location. Physical geographical location refers to the spatial relationship between a country and the land, sea, mountains, rivers and other natural objects on the earth, especially the relationship between land and sea. Natural geographical location has certain influence on national security and national defense construction. (2) the geographical location of traffic. The geographical location of traffic also has great strategic value. Countries located in the world's land and sea transportation hub and throat can make use of their geographical advantages to develop their economies in peacetime, while they are an important weight to restrict other countries in wartime, and their value has doubled in the international strategic pattern. At the same time, countries and regions with important transportation geographical position often become places of fierce competition among big countries. It can be seen that the international status and security of a country are also directly related to the geographical location of transportation. (3) the geographical position of national defense. National defense geographical location, also known as political and military geographical location, refers to the spatial relationship between a country and neighboring countries or groups of countries, which has a more direct relationship with national security. Generally speaking, countries with many neighboring countries and complicated border issues are more prone to war or armed conflict. 2. Land area: As an integral part of comprehensive national strength, land area is recognized by Chinese and foreign scholars. So when we evaluate the strength of a country, we often pay attention to its size first. Generally speaking, the bigger the territory, the stronger the national strength. 3. Topography: Topography refers to the natural form of a country. Its influence on national strength, especially national defense, can not be ignored. It often determines whether a country is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Terrain also has a certain influence on a country's economic development. Because the terrain often determines the accessibility of traffic, and the greater the accessibility, the more conducive to economic development. (2) Resources and resources are important and relatively stable factors in comprehensive national strength and can be measured. Therefore, people often rank it in the forefront of comprehensive national strength elements. Resources usually refer to natural objects that exist naturally and have use value. Including land, mineral resources, energy, forests, oceans and so on. It is the natural source of national strength. If a country is rich in resources, then it has a strong natural foundation; On the contrary, if natural resources are scarce, the development of the country will be restricted to a certain extent. 1. Energy: Energy includes coal, oil and natural gas. The importance of energy to the country lies in that it is not only the driving force of economic development, but also an important guarantee for the army to carry out modern wars. Energy, especially oil resources, has a far-reaching impact on a country's economy and national defense. In a sense, without energy, there would be no modern economy and modern war. 2. Metal deposits: Like energy, metal deposits are a solid material foundation for national industrialization and military potential. For economic construction, metal deposits are the main "grain" of industrial production; For national defense, many metal mineral resources are strategic materials to support the military industry of various countries. (3) Population, like resources and land, has obvious influence on national strength. In fact, the fact that India has a large population is enough to attract the attention of all countries in the world. India's "great power status" largely comes from its huge population. Of course, population, as a component of national strength, not only refers to the population, but also includes population quality, population composition and so on. Some of them can be measured, while others can only be evaluated qualitatively. 1. Population: Generally speaking, it has a large population, sufficient troops and strong reserve forces, and can stand the test of large-scale wars. If we can fight guerrilla warfare, the enemy will be trapped in the sea of Wang Yang. Therefore, the large population itself is a force to be reckoned with. But population and national strength are not directly proportional. On the other hand, if the population is too large, which exceeds the bearing capacity of national resources and economic development, it will become an unfavorable factor affecting national strength. 2. Population quality: If there is a certain population, the influence of population quality on national strength is more important. The so-called population quality is the national quality, which refers to the national education level, health status, morality, customs, cultural traditions, national spirit and so on. The education level of citizens is one of the important indicators to measure the quality of a country's population. Personally, health status and morality refer to their physical and psychological endurance, which is an important parameter for the quality of the country's labor force, and for national defense, it is an integral part of the quality and combat effectiveness of soldiers. Customs and habits, cultural traditions, national spirit and so on are the spiritual factors that constitute national strength. 3. Population structure: Population structure refers to the composition of gender, age, nationality, race and other factors, and is an important basis for calculating labor resources and manpower potential. At the same time, it is also a direct factor affecting national security and development. The sex and age composition of the population are the main parameters of human resources. The greater the proportion of the working-age population, especially the working-age population, to the total population, the stronger the human foundation for economic development and national defense construction. On the contrary, if the proportion of minors, women or the elderly is too large, there may be a shortage of productive labor and even soldiers, which will adversely affect economic construction and the war process. 4. Regional distribution of population: The regional distribution of population also affects a country's national defense to some extent. If the population distribution within a country is relatively uniform, it will be conducive to the mobilization and replenishment of local soldiers and materials in wartime, and give full play to the advantages of people's familiarity with the land. However, if the population distribution is uneven, it will be difficult to evacuate densely populated areas in wartime, especially in the event of large-scale air strikes or nuclear strikes, the losses will be great. If the main strategic direction is towards sparsely populated areas, it will increase the difficulty of replenishment and increase the burden of military transportation. 5. Ethnic composition of the population: The ethnic composition of the population has a great influence on the stability and security of a country. Generally speaking, a country with relatively single ethnic composition is more qualified to improve national cohesion. There are differences in language, religion, customs, history and culture among multi-ethnic countries. Under certain conditions, such differences may not only develop into contradictions or frictions between ethnic groups, but even lead to conflicts and wars. Therefore, for multi-ethnic countries, ethnic issues are a major issue that directly affects national security and thus national strength. 6. Religious beliefs of the population: Generally speaking, countries with multiple religions are prone to religious contradictions and conflicts. In the process of religious popularization and dissemination, if the relationship between religions or sects is not handled well, different religious forces will collide and conflict, thus affecting the stability and national strength of a country. In particular, many religious believers "struggle for religion, not for the country", regard religious interests above all else and are easily exploited by ethnic separatists. Of course, because religion has a special appeal, if religious issues can be properly handled and guided, it can also enhance national cohesion. For example, for Islamic countries, religion is an important source of national strength, so it is very important for multi-religious countries to study and properly handle religious issues. (D) Economic and economic strength is the most important component of comprehensive national strength. The success or failure of each country in the future comprehensive national strength competition and its position in the future world strategic structure depend largely on the future economic strength of each country. Wealth is an important factor affecting international politics in peacetime, but it can be quickly transformed into military power in wartime. First of all, a strong national defense must be backed by a strong economy. The strength of national defense force depends on the quantity and quality of armed personnel and the level of weapons and equipment. To maintain an army with a certain scale, good quality and excellent equipment needs to be based on economic capacity, especially with the development of science and technology, the cost of weapons and equipment is getting higher and higher, which makes the army more and more dependent on the economy. Secondly, with the development of weapons and equipment, the destructive power and consumption of war have greatly increased, which has also improved the decisive role of the national economy in the war process. Modern war is a contest of comprehensive national strength between countries, which depends on the economic strength of both sides to a certain extent. Whoever has strong economic strength and great economic potential will support the war and win it. This is what people call total war. Economic strength mainly includes agricultural production capacity, industrial production capacity, international competitiveness and other basic elements. Among them, industrial production capacity is the most important symbol of economic strength. (5) Circulation The circulation mentioned here mainly refers to traffic and communication. 1. Transportation: Transportation refers to the air, land and water transportation network used to transport materials and troops, including railways, highways, waterways, aviation, pipelines and their facilities. It is an important condition for military mobile operations, an important basis for logistics support, and an important goal for both sides of the war, which has a great influence on the victory or defeat of the war. 2. Communication: War activities can be said to be composed of three kinds of "streams". These three kinds of "streams" are the stream of people composed of soldiers, the logistics composed of weapons and support systems, and the stream of information composed of military information (signals) such as reports, orders, instruction plans, statements and images generated by the stream of people and logistics. Communication system is the main carrier to complete the function of information flow transmission. (6) The government is the organization that manages the whole country, and it is also the core of the use of state power. Whether the elements of comprehensive national strength can form a joint force and exert maximum efficiency depends largely on the quality of the government. If the government is of high quality, it can not only give full play to its existing national strength, but also develop rapidly through correct domestic policies, making the country outnumbered and among the world powers. On the contrary, if the government is incompetent, it will not only fail to make the elements of national strength form a joint force, but also restrict each other, consume national strength, slow down or stagnate the economy or development, and lead to the failure of the war. 1. Political nature: The political nature of the government refers to whether the government can represent the interests of the overwhelming majority, whether its domestic policies are in line with public opinion, whether its foreign policies are in line with human justice, and whether it is beneficial to the interests of most people in the world, including the interests of its own people. 2. Degree of legalization and democratization of the government: The degree of legalization of the government can be measured by such criteria as whether a country's laws are relatively perfect, whether the government acts in full accordance with the law, whether it is equal before the law, whether law enforcement agencies enforce the law strictly, and whether violators are investigated. The degree of democratization of the government can be measured by whether the political rights of citizens can be guaranteed, whether the leaders of the country and the government are democratically elected, whether government officials have legal terms of office, and whether their appointments have gone through certain democratic procedures. In fact, the degree of legalization and democratization of the government reflects whether the government is fair or not and whether it represents the wishes of the domestic people. Therefore, generally speaking, the higher the degree of legalization and democratization of the government, the more it can win the support and cooperation of the people, the easier it is to carry out its own policies, and the more it can use and give play to a country's national strength. 3. Government institutions and their effectiveness: Government institutions are the political system and components of the country. Whether the government institutions are set up scientifically and reasonably directly affects the quality and governance efficiency of the government. A lean and reasonable government is bound to operate efficiently. On the contrary, a bloated and complicated government will not only be overstaffed, but also breed serious bureaucracy and all kinds of corruption, weakening the status and prestige of the ruling party. 4. The ability of the government to organize, coordinate and control: As we all know, the social cohesion of a country's people is an important symbol of the country's strength, that is, the so-called unity is strength. To make the whole country have strong cohesion and the people unite as one, the government needs strong organization, coordination and control ability, which is even more needed when faced with challenges such as turmoil, war and ethnic issues. Otherwise, it is like loose sand, and it is difficult to form a resultant force. Or fall into civil strife or even civil war. If we run out of national strength, we can't play an important role in the world, let alone make full use of existing resources and national strength to resist foreign invasion. (7) Military forces The position and role of military forces in national strength are also different in different international environments or countries. 1. quantity and quality of the army: to evaluate the strength of a country's army, we must first pay attention to the quantity and scale of the army. Of course, the relationship between quantity and strength is not directly proportional, because war power is also restricted and influenced by many other conditions, such as weapons and equipment, soldiers' quality and organization and command. 2. The quality of the armed forces: first, the age structure and physical quality of soldiers; Second, good military literacy and well-trained training; Third, good martial arts and winning belief. 3. Weapons and equipment: Weapons and equipment are the material basis of the armed forces and an important factor in determining the outcome of the war. 4. Leadership: War is a practical activity between people, and human factors, especially commanders, play a very prominent role in the war. 5. Military theory: it is a theoretical summary and summary of military activities, and it is also a guide for military activities and army building. The study of military theory will provide theoretical basis for formulating national defense policy and military strategy, planning the construction of combat forces, developing weapons and equipment, and guiding the preparation and implementation of the current realistic military struggle and the future anti-aggression war. Advanced military theory is an integral part of combat effectiveness and can provide correct theoretical guidance for war activities. On the contrary, backward military theory may lead to the failure of the war. (viii) External relations 1. Military politics: In military politics, national defense diplomacy needs to establish military political relations and communication principles between countries and formulate policies for different countries and regions, thus changing the balance of forces between the enemy and ourselves. The main measures are as follows: first, the highest level of military and political relations is to establish military and political alliances between countries and carry out all-round military cooperation. Secondly, establish relatively stable and close relations between friendly countries in order to win their stronger support and enhance their ability to resist threats. Third, we should carry out military and political exchanges with ordinary countries. 2. Military economy: The development of military economic relations usually includes the following two aspects: first, international trade and foreign economic activities from the perspective of national security; The second is to establish direct military and economic ties and strengthen military and economic cooperation. 3. Military science and technology: Military science and technology is an important driving force for the development of military forces, especially weapons and equipment. Therefore, actively carrying out foreign military technical exchanges is an important way to develop military strength. In addition, military science and technology is often the forerunner of the new technological revolution. Therefore, the exchange and development of military technology is also of great economic significance.