Spheres of influence in Imperial China prior to the Open Door Policy (around 1900). The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs As a theory the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice as was reflected in treaties concluded with

A sphere of influence (SOI) is an area or region over which an organization or state exerts some kind of indirect cultural, economic, military or political domination. Also, in some areas of habitation, shopping or retail outlets or indeed destination outlets, have a sphere of influence over towns of certain areas, for example the Central business district (CBD). A central business district ( CBD) is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city A country within the "sphere of influence" of another more powerful country may become a subsidiary of that state and serve in effect as a satellite state or de facto colony. Satellite state is a political term that refers to a country which is formally independent but under heavy influence or control by another country This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. The system of spheres of influence by which powerful nations intervene in the affairs of others continues to the present day. It is often analyzed in terms of superpowers, great powers, and/or middle powers. A superpower is a State with a leading position in the international system and the ability to Influence events and project power on a worldwide scale A great power is a Nation or State that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale Middle power is a term used in the field of International relations to describe States that are not Superpowers or Great powers but still have

Post-Imperial China

In rare instances, multiple spheres of influence by different imperial powers were established in a single country as a compromise between the imperial powers and also when establishing a single sphere of influence is not feasible due to the size of that single country. For example, between the 1870s and the 1910s, although the Chinese Empire still existed as a sovereign country, it was divided into 6 SOI zones officially in which Russia took the area north of the Great Wall, Germany the Shandong Province, Japan the Fujian Province, Britain the Yangtze River basin, France the southwestern Chinese provinces bordering French Indochina and Britain/France jointly the Guangdong Province. Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself The Great Wall of China ( or ( is a series of stone and earthen Fortifications in China, built rebuilt and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th ( is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. This article is about the People's Republic of China province First French interventions See also France-Vietnam relations France-Vietnam relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit Guangdong ( EFEO: Kouangtong; Pinyin Guǎngdōng; Postal map spelling: Kwangtung) is a province on the Similarly, the Ottoman Empire was divided by the imperial powers into several SOIs at around the same time. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish

Empire of Japan

For example, during the height of its existence, the Japanese Empire had quite a large sphere of influence, with the Japanese government influencing, or directly governing events in Korea, Manchuria, Vietnam, Taiwan, and parts of China. The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Manchuria ( Romanized Manchu: Manju,, Маньчжурия Mongolian: Манж is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" could thus be quite easily drawn on a map of the Pacific Ocean as a large "bubble" surrounding the islands of Japan and the Asian nations it controlled. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere ( Kyūjitai: 大東亞共榮圈 Shinjitai: ja 大東亜共栄圏 Dai-tō-a Kyōeiken) was a concept The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions

Cold War

During the Cold War, Eastern Europe, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and, to a lesser extent (until the Sino-Soviet split) the People's Republic of China were said to lie under the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 While, to a much lesser degree Western Europe, Japan, and South Korea were often said to lie under the sphere of influence of the United States. Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For instance France and Great Britain were able to act independently to invade (with Israel) the Suez Canal. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation France was able to withdraw from the military arm of NATO, such behavior would not have been tolerated under a true sphere of influence. The North Atlantic Treaty

Sometimes portions of a single country can fall into two distinct spheres of influence. In the colonial era the buffer states of Iran and Thailand, lying between the empires of Britain/Russia and Britain/France respectively, were divided between the spheres of influence of the imperial powers. A buffer state is a Country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Power in international relations is defined in several different ways Likewise, after World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, which later consolidated into West Germany and East Germany, the former a member of NATO and the latter a member of the Warsaw Pact. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany ( The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state The North Atlantic Treaty The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe.

Australia

See also: Foreign relations of Australia

Australian economic interests in neighboring island nations are reflected by rapid response to cases of military actions (including the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and subsequent changes in its political status), natural disasters (the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake), political upheavals (with less success, the 2006 Fijian coup d'état), and conditional economic assistance. The foreign relations of Australia have spanned from the country's time as Dominion and later Realm of the British Empire to become steadfastly allied with For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. See also Indonesian occupation of East Timor Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, which led to Portugal's The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea Earthquake that occurred at 005853 UTC on December 26 2004 with an Epicentre off the west coast of The Fijian Coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état A predominantly Australian sphere of influence has been described for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and East Timor. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia. New Zealand works closely with Australia in foreign policy and trade and has been described as a "junior partner" within this sphere of influence. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island ^[1][2] While Australia has some influence in Malaysia and Indonesia, it is limited by the desire of these nations to avoid being drawn into the sphere of influence of any single great power, their involvement with China and the United States, and their own ambitions within ASEAN. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN, ˈɑːsiːɑːn AH-see-ahn in English (the Official language ^[3]

California

In California "sphere of influence" has a legal meaning as a plan for the probable physical boundaries and service area of a local agency. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Spheres of influence at California local agencies are regulated by Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCO). A Local Agency Formation Commission (or LAFCo) is one of several decision making Government entities in California with the responsibility to decide boundary Each county in California has a LAFCO. A county is a Land area of Regional Government within a larger State.

Corporations

When talking in corporate terms, the sphere of influence of a business, organization or group can show its power and influence in the decisions of other business/organization/groups. It can be found using many factors, such as the size, the frequency of visits, etc. In most cases, a company described as bigger has a larger sphere of influence. For example, the software company Microsoft has a large sphere of influence in the market of operating systems; any entity wishing for its software product to be successful must ensure that it is compatible with Microsoft's products. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination For another example, for companies wishing to make more profit, they must ensure they open their stores in the correct location. This is also true for shopping centers, who, to reap most profit, must be able to attract customers to its vicinity. There is no defined scale on how to measure the sphere of influence. However, the spheres of influence of two shopping centers, two business can. This can be done by measuring how far people are prepared to travel to the shopping center, how much time they spend in its vicinity, how often they visit, the order of goods available, etc.

References

External links

• The CommonCensus Map Project - Calculates the spheres of influence for American cities based on voting