Top 20 global Leverage Leaders
Leverage is read directly off the
strategic-dependence graph. Each directional edge records how heavily a source nation relies on a target nation in this capability domain, scored on the one-to-seven rubric — and because the reading runs one way only, dependence has a direction. A nation’s leverage is the dependence pointed
at it: the weight of reliance the rest of the system places on it.
That weight is about depth, not breadth. On the rubric the lower scores describe no, negligible or merely peripheral dependence — reliance others could absorb or substitute — so they confer no leverage and are floored to zero, as are missing pairs. Each remaining tie is weighted by the square of how far it exceeds that floor, so a handful of deep dependencies outweighs a long tail of shallow ones. Two readings are shown: aggregate leverage, that total weight; and leverage per partner, the same total divided by the number of counterparties that lean on the nation at the floor or above — how deep the reliance placed on it runs per dependent, rather than in aggregate. Computed over the single capability slice (218 nations, 32,866 directional edges).
How to read this. Aggregate leverage — the floored, squared weight of inbound dependence (reliance at “low” or below counts as zero), normalised to 0–100 against the strongest nation. Leverage per partner — that weight divided by the count of counterparties depending on it at the floor or above (score ≥ 3), i.e. depth of reliance per active relationship, normalised to 0–100. Mod / Sig / High — the number of dependents at moderate (≥4), significant (≥5) and high (≥6) dependence. Max lvg — the single deepest dependence directed at the nation, on the 1–7 rubric. On this ensemble-averaged slice scores peak at 4.5, so Sig and High are empty everywhere and will populate when deeper dependence appears. Click any heading except the rank to re-sort. Computed from the strategic-dependence dimension only; see Methodology.