Regional power

Leaders of most regional powers during the 2015 G-20 summit in Antalya, Turkey

In international relations since the late 20th century, a regional power is a term used for a state that has power within a geographic region.[1][2] States which wield unrivalled power and influence within a region of the world possess regional hegemony.

Characteristics

Regional powers shape the polarity of a regional area. Typically, regional powers have capabilities which are important in the region but do not have capabilities at a global scale. Slightly contrasting definitions differ as to what makes a regional power. The European Consortium for Political Research defines a regional power as:

"A state belonging to a geographically defined region, dominating this region in economic and military terms, able to exercise hegemonic influence in the region and considerable influence on the world scale, willing to make use of power resources and recognized or even accepted as the regional leader by its neighbours".[1]

The German Institute of Global and Area Studies states that a regional power must:[2]

  • form part of a definable region with its own identity
  • claim to be a regional power (self-image as a regional power)
  • exert decisive influence on the geographic extension of the region as well as on its ideological construction
  • dispose over comparatively high military, economic, demographic, political and ideological capabilities
  • be well integrated into the region
  • define the regional security agenda to a high degree
  • be appreciated as a regional power by other powers in the region and beyond, especially by other regional powers
  • be well connected with regional and global forums

Regional powers

  Major Regional Powers in North America (United States)
  Major Regional Powers in Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Brazil and Mexico)
  Major Regional Powers in Europe (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom)
  Major Regional Powers in Africa (Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)
  Major Regional Powers in North Asia and Eastern Europe (Russia)
  Major Regional Powers in Western Asia and Southeast Europe (Turkey)
  Major Regional Powers in Western Asia and North Africa (Egypt, Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia)
  Major Regional Powers in East Asia (China, Japan and South Korea)
  Major Regional Powers in Southeast Asia (Indonesia)
  Major Regional Powers in South Asia (Pakistan, India)
  Major Regional Powers in Oceania (Australia)

Below are states that have been described as regional powers by international relations and political science academics, analysts, or other experts. These states to some extent meet the criteria to have regional power status, as described above. Different experts have differing views on exactly which states are regional powers. States are arranged by their region, and in alphabetic order.

Primary, or major, regional powers (also known as pivotal powers) are placed in the major regions as identified by analysts. Secondary, or minor, regional powers are listed within their subregions. Major regional powers are indicated in bold and minor regional powers in normal font.

Africa

Americas

The United States is the primary geopolitical force in the Western Hemisphere. Canada, despite being a middle power, is not a regional power because it is militarily secured by U.S. hegemony and financially comfortable by its dependence on the robust U.S. economy.[9]

Latin America and the Caribbean

In the past, Spain and Portugal were the dominant powers in the region but following decolonization in the first half of the 19th century, the major powers became Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.

Asia

Historically, China was the dominant power in East Asia. But, at the beginning of the early 20th century, the Empire of Japan became an important player in World War I as one of the Allied powers. With economic turmoil, Japan's expulsion from the League of Nations, and its interest in expansion on the mainland, Japan became a major player in World War II as one of the Axis powers. China became a key player in World War II as one of the Allied powers.

Since the late 20th century, regional alliances, economic progress, and contrasting military power have changed the strategic and regional power balance in Asia. Since its founding, Pakistan has created pivotal roles in major military and non-military alliances. In recent years, a re-balancing of military and economic power among countries such as China, Pakistan, and India has resulted in significant changes in the geopolitics of Asia. China and Japan have also gained greater influence over regions outside Asia. With close economic and military ties with the United States, South Korea and Japan are seen as major regional powers "containing" the communist regimes of China and North Korea.

East Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Western Asia

Europe

France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom are regarded as the Big Four of Europe.[59][60] Historically, dominant powers in this region created large colonial empires worldwide (such as the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Dutch empires). Most of the continent is now integrated as a consequence of the enlargement of the European Union.

Oceania

Transcontinental regional powers

Transcontinental countries like Russia are able to exert regional influence in large areas of the world.

See also

Notes

^ Considered a great power
^ Member of G20
^ Member of N 11

References

  1. 1 2 Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor, "The Rise of (New) Regional Powers in Asia, Africa, Latin America...", German Overseas Institute & University of St. Andrews, May 2007
  2. 1 2 Martin Beck, The Concept of Regional Power: The Middle East as a Deviant Case?, German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, 11–12 December 2006.
  3. ↑ Lynch, David A. (2010-08-16). Trade and Globalization: An Introduction to Regional Trade Agreements. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742566903.
  4. ↑ Flemes, Daniel (2010). Regional Leadership in the Global System: Ideas, Interests and Strategies of Regional Powers. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 9780754679127.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Buzan, Barry (2004). The United States and the Great Powers. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Polity Press. p. 71. ISBN 0-7456-3375-7.
  6. 1 2 3 4 www.aims.ca Archived July 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ www.iss.co.za Archived October 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "Southern Africa is home to the other of sub-Saharan Africa's regional powers: South Africa. South Africa is more than just a regional power; it is by far the most developed and economically powerful country in Africa, and now it is able to use that influence in Africa more than during the days of apartheid (white rule), when it was ostracized." See David Lynch, Trade and Globalization (Lanham, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010), p. 51.
  9. ↑ Alice Bothwell, "Can Canada Still Be Considered a Middle Power?," Master's Thesis (University of Stellenbosch), p. 34
  10. ↑ "Chinese Cyber Information Profusion". internationalpolicydigest.org. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "Argentina has been the leading military and economic power in the Southern Cone in the Twentieth Century." See Michael Morris, "The Srait of Magellan," in International Straits of the World, edited by Gerard Mangone (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishes, 1988), p. 63.
  12. 1 2 "Secondary regional powers in Huntington's view include Great Britain, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina." See Tom Nierop, "The Clash of Civilisations," in The Territorial Factor, edited by Gertjan Dijkink and Hans Knippenberg (Amsterdam: Vossiuspers UvA, 2001), p. 61.
  13. ↑ "The US has created a foundation upon which the regional powers, especially Argentina and Brazil, can developed their own rules for further managing regional relations." See David Lake, "Regional Hierarchies," in Globalising the Regional, edited by Rick Fawn (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p. 55.
  14. ↑ "The southern cone of South America, including Argentina and Brazil, the two regional powers, has recently become a pluralistic security community." See Emanuel Adler and Patricia Greve, "Overlapping regional mechanisms of security governance," in Globalising the Regional, edited by Rick Fawn (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p. 78.
  15. ↑ "[...] notably by linking the Southern Cone's rival regional powers, Brazil and Argentina." See Alejandra Ruiz-Dana, Peter Goldschag, Edmundo Claro and Hernan Blanco, "Regional integration, trade and conflicts in Latin America," in Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution, edited by Shaheen Rafi Khan (New York: Routledge, 2009), p. 18.
  16. 1 2 Samuel P. Huntington, "Culture, Power, and Democracy," in Globalization, Power, and Democracy, edited by Marc Plattner and Aleksander Smolar (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000), p. 6.
  17. ↑ ""The driving force behind the adoption of the MERCOSUR agreement was similar to that of the establishment of the EU: the hope of limiting the possibilities of traditional military hostility between the major regional powers, Brazil and Argentina." See Anestis Papadopoulos, The International Dimension of EU Competition Law and Policy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 283.
  18. ↑ Arnson, Cynthia; Sotero, Paulo. "Brazil as a Regional Power: Views from the Hemisphere" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  19. ↑ De Lima, Maria Regina Soares; Hirst, Monica. "Brazil as an intermediate state and regional power: action, choice and responsibilities" (PDF). Chatham House. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  20. ↑ Wigell, Mikael. "Assertive Brazil, an emerging power and its implications" (PDF). Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  21. ↑ Flemes, Daniel. "Brazil's strategic options in a multi-regional world order" (PDF). German Institute of Global and Area Studies. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  22. ↑ Schenoni, Luis. "Unveiling the South American Balance". Estudos Internacionais. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  23. ↑ James Scott, Matthias vom Hau and David Hulme. "Beyond the BICs: Strategies of influence" Check |url= value (help). The University of Manchester. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  24. ↑ Nolte, Detlef (2010), "How to compare regional powers: analytical concepts and research topics" (PDF), Review of International Studies, 36: 881–901, archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2012
  25. ↑ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan" (PDF). mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  26. ↑ Dadush, Uri. "China's Rise and Latin America: A Global, Long-Term Perspective". Inter-American Dialogue. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2012. Moreover, the rise of regional powers Brazil and Mexico, and their burgeoning middle classes, could be a boon for other Latin American economies.
  27. ↑ "Living With The Giants - TIME". time.com. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  28. ↑ "China: Global/Regional Power 2006". au.af.mil. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "CNN In-Depth Specials - Visions of China - Asian Superpower: Regional 'godfather' or local bully?". cnn.com. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "Correspondents Report - China: paramount power in South East Asia". abc.net.au. 2006-05-21. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-05-23. www.aseanfocus.com
  32. 1 2 3 U.S. Policy to Asia for Regional Powers in New Science and Technology: China, Russia, Japan and Korea with Nuclear Potential, allacademic.com
  33. ↑ "Japan and the Myanmar Stalemate: Regional Power and Resolution of a Regional Problem| Japanese Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core". journals.cambridge.org. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "www.csbaonline.org/4Publications/PubLibrary/R.20000200.Transforming_Ameri/R.20000200.Transforming_Ameri.php". csbaonline.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  35. ↑ "South Korea: A Major Regional Power" (PDF). Journal of Sociololgy. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  36. 1 2 3 Buzan & Wæver, Regions and Powers (2003, p. 55)
  37. ↑ Perkovich, George. "Is India a Major Power?" (PDF). The Washington Quarterly (27.1 Winter 2003–04). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  38. ↑ Encarta - Great Powers Archived 2009-11-01 at WebCite
  39. ↑ Dilip Mohite (Spring 1993). "Swords and Ploughshares- India: The Fourth Great Power?". Vol. 7, No. 3. Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS). Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  40. ↑ Barry Buzan (15 October 2004). The United States and the Great Powers: World Politics in the Twenty-First Century. Polity. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-0-7456-3375-6. Regional powers define the polarity of any given regional security complex (Walt 1987; Lake and Morgan 1997; Buzan and Wæver 2003): India and Pakistan in South Asia...
  41. ↑ Buzan, Barry; Wæver, Ole (2003). Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security. Cambridge University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-521-89111-0. In the framework of their regional security complex theory (RSCT), Barry Buzan and Ole Waever differentiate between superpowers and great powers which act and influence the global level (or system level) and regional powers whose influence may be large in their regions but have less effect at the global level. This category of regional powers includes Brazil, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.
  42. ↑ Paul, T. V. (2012). International Relations Theory and Regional Transformation. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-107-02021-4. Retrieved 3 February 2017. The regional powers such as Israel or Pakistan are not simple bystanders of great power politics in their regions; they attempt to asymmetrically influence the major power system often in their own distinct ways.
  43. ↑ Ersel Aydinli; James N. Rosenau (2005). Globalization, Security, and the Nation State: Paradigms in Transition. SUNY Press. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-0-7914-6402-1. Regional powers refers to the much larger and, in international security terms, much more significant, category of states that define the power structure of their local region: India and Pakistan in South Asia; South Africa in southern Africa; Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia in the Gulf; Egypt, Israel, and Syria in the Levant; and so forth. Regional powers may not matter much at the global level, but within their regions they determine both the local patterns of security relations and the way in which those patterns interact with global powers.
  44. ↑ Narang, V. (2014). Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era: Regional Powers and International Conflict. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400850402. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  45. ↑ T. V. Paul; Linda Paul; Teleglobe Raoul-Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies (2000). Power Versus Prudence: Why Nations Forgo Nuclear Weapons. Université du Québec à Montréal. Centre d'études des politiques étrangères et de sécurité. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 978-0-7735-2087-5.
  46. ↑ Nadine Godehardt; Dirk Nabers (12 May 2011). Regional Powers and Regional Orders. Taylor & Francis. pp. 306–. ISBN 978-1-136-71890-8. It is also a nuclear power, with dozens of nuclear warheads and intermediate-range ballistic missiles (Khan and Lavoy 2008). By these crudely material resources measures, Pakistan should be considered a major regional power.
  47. ↑ T. V. Paul; Richard J. Harknett; James J. Wirtz (2000). The Absolute Weapon Revisited: Nuclear Arms and the Emerging International Order. University of Michigan Press. pp. 256–. ISBN 0-472-08700-2.
  48. ↑ Kenan Aksu (18 July 2014). Turkey: A Regional Power in the Making. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 92–. ISBN 978-1-4438-6453-4. ... Central and South Asia have now been renewed with fresh interpretations especially in regard to the regional powers of Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
  49. ↑ Sumit Ganguly; S. Paul Kapur (18 August 2008). Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia: Crisis Behaviour and the Bomb. Routledge. pp. 212–. ISBN 978-1-134-06962-0.
  50. ↑ Edward A. Kolodziej; Roger E. Kanet (18 June 1989). Limits of Soviet Power. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 202–. ISBN 978-1-349-10146-7. Because of Pakistan's reemergence as at least a regional power, we identify an emerging pentagon of power in and around South Asia...
  51. ↑ Kaushiki, Dr. Nishtha (2013). "The New Great Game and India's Connect Central Asia Policy: Strategic Perspectives and Challenges". Journal of International and Area Studies. JSTOR Org. 20, no.2 (December 2013): 83–100. “The New Great Game” was developed in Central Asia involving Russia, America, Europe and China as key players as well as Iran, Turkey and Pakistan as regional players.
  52. ↑ Emmers, Ralf. "Regional hegemonies and the exercise of power in Southeast Asia: A study of Indonesia and Vietnam" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, March 17, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  53. ↑ ""Iran is a strong regional power, in a far better shape than Pakistan because f its economic capabilities, rich mineral and energy resources, and internal stability, added to its far greater geostrategic importance." In Hooman Peimani, Nuclear Proliferation in the Indian Subcontinent (Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2000), p. 30.
  54. ↑ "The Eight Great Powers of 2017 - The American Interest". The American Interest. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  55. ↑ Haaretz (2016-03-01). "Israel May Be Eighth-ranked in Global Power, but It's Really Not Much Fun". Haaretz. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  56. ↑ Butenschøn, Nils A. (1992). Regional Great Powers in International Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. pp. 95–119. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-12661-3_5. ISBN 9781349126637.
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  58. ↑ "Saudi Surprise". archive.org. 26 August 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2004. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  59. ↑ Kirchner, E.J.; Sperling, J. (2007). Global Security Governance: Competing Perceptions of Security in the Twenty-First Century. Taylor & Francis. p. 265. ISBN 9781134222223. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  60. ↑ Aghion, P.; Durlauf, S.N. (2005). Handbook of Economic Growth. Elsevier. p. 788. ISBN 9780444520418. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  61. ↑ ""Regional Powers React to Proposed US Invasion of Iraq"". globalpolicy.org. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  62. ↑ "tspace.library.utoronto.ca" (PDF). utoronto.ca. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  63. ↑ Gabriele Abbondanza, Italy as a Regional Power: the African Context from National Unification to the Present Day (Rome: Aracne, 2016)
  64. ↑ "Operation Alba may be considered one of the most important instances in which Italy has acted as a regional power, taking the lead in executing a technically and politically coherent and determined strategy." See Federiga Bindi, Italy and the European Union (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011), p. 171.
  65. ↑ "Italy plays a prominent role in European and global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power." See Italy: Justice System and National Police Handbook, Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: International Business Publications, 2009), p. 9.
  66. ↑ "L'Italie : un destin européen - Ouvrages - La Documentation française | L'Italie est avant tout une grande puissance européenne, un État-nation au développement économique brillant, une puissance industrielle, une société civile active, une intelligentsia remarquable, l’un des principaux pôles culturels et artistiques de l’Europe". ladocumentationfrancaise.fr. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
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  70. ↑ http://www.carnegie.ru/en/pubs/media/69778.htm www.carnegie.ru
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Bibliography

  • Buzan, Barry; Wæver, Ole (2003), Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 55, ISBN 0-521-89111-6
  • Godehardt, Nadine; Nabers, Dirk, eds. (2011), Regional Orders and Regional Powers, Routledge, pp. 193–208, ISBN 978-1-136-71891-5
  • Stewart-Ingersoll, Robert; Frazier, Derrick (2012), Regional Powers and Security Orders: A Theoretical Framework, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-56919-4
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