National Power Rankings of Countries 2020

We present to you the second, expanded edition of the report National power rankings of countries in the Open Access format. The report constitutes an attempt to respond to the great institutional and social demand in the field of empirical studies of international relations, including the use of powermetric methods. The circulating popular views of "return of geopolitics", "changes in the international distribution of power", "the shift of the centre of power from the West to the East", "twilight of the West" still require scientific verification. Research material based on the synthetic powermetric indicators allows for analysing changes in the distribution of power between states as the main actors of international relations. The basic term used in the Report is "power"; its equivalent in French is "puissance", in German "Macht" and in Russian "мощь".The international distribution of power, which is the most important feature of any international system, constitutes a product of a long historical process, characterized by high inertia, which means that it cannot be changed in a short time. However, there are periods of acceleration on the timeline, as exemplified by the period after the Cold War. These periods are characterized by high dynamics resulting in new geopolitical contradictions, i.e. contradictions between interests or traditional spheres of influence and the possibilities of maintaining them. This, in turn, leads to exacerbation of tensions in relations between states.The report is addressed to all interested persons and institutions, in particular to politicians, government officials and entrepreneurs with the hope that it will prove helpful in the decision-making process. We also want to interest analysts and specialists in various fields and scientific disciplines with the results of our research. We are looking forward to an interdisciplinary debate on changes in the international distribution of power and their economic, social and political consequences.We would like to note that similar reports are prepared in large research teams with significant organizational and budgetary capabilities. The results of our work were achieved thanks to the effort of just few persons. Although we have tried to develop it as solidly as possible, we do not rule out various defects or even errors, which is why we ask readers for understanding as well as any comments - including very critical - of a substantive, methodological, technical or aesthetic nature. We are already thinking about the third edition, which is such comments would be very useful to us.