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In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region.www.essex.ac.ukwww.giga-hamburg.de
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There are slightly differing definitions of what makes a regional power:
According to the European Consortium for Political Research a regional power can be defined 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".www.essex.ac.uk
According to the German Institute of Global and Area Studies a regional power must ;
Some states may be regarded as both a Great power and a regional power. Likewise some states may be regarded as a Middle power and a regional power.
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.
China
Considered an emerging superpower by some political analysts and a significant regional power by others. Living With The Giants - TIMEChina: Global/Regional PowerCNN In-Depth Specials - Visions of China - Asian Superpower: Regional \'godfather\' or local bully? Academics from various sources think China is a regional power in East Asia and Southeast Asia. www.abc.net www.aseanfocus.com
It has the world\'s largest population, 1.3 billion people.The CIA World Factbook It is currently the 4th largest economy in the world in nominal GDP and growing at a rate of over 9% a year, MSNBC Newsweek Does the Future Belong to China? and has the largest reserves of foreign exchange and gold in the world. www.cia.gov China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
In terms of manpower, China has the biggest military in the world, with 2,250,000 active troops. "China\'s Armed Forces, CSIS (Page 24)", 2006-07-25. Chinese defence expenditure is the second highest in East Asia, and the fifth highest in the world. www.cia.gov China has nuclear weapons, inter-continental ballistic missiles, and ballistic missile submarines.
Japan is considered a regional power by academics at the City University of Hong Kong, journals.cambridge.org and is described as a "core great regional power" in a report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments policy research institute. www.csbaonline.org
Japan has the second highest nominal GDP in the world, and the largest in East Asia. worldbank.org It also has the second largest population and largest defence budget in the region. www.cia.gov Japan has technologically advanced armed forces; however has limited real power projection capability due to its post-war constitution, but has the ability to rebuild quickly if it normalized.
France has been described as a regional power by the Global Policy Forum globalpolicy.org, and Samuel P. Huntington www.aims.ca, and is described as a "core great regional power" in a report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments policy research institute. www.csbaonline.org
France has the third-largest economy in Europe.worldbank.org France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It is a NATO member, and has the second largest defence expenditure in Europe. www.sipri.org France has nuclear weapons, inter-continental ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, and is the only nation besides the United States to operate a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Germany has been described as a regional power by Samuel P. Huntingtonwww.aims.ca, and other academics.tspace.library.utoronto.caIt is described as a "core great regional power" in a report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments policy research institute. www.csbaonline.org
Germany is the world\'s largest exporter. www.cia.gov Germany has the highest GDP in Europe, worldbank.org and is also the most populous nation in the E.U, giving it the most seats in the European Parliament, and influence within the E.U. Germany is a member of NATO, and has the third largest defence expenditure in Europe www.cia.gov
Political scientist and author Joseph Becker and Franz Knipping in, "Power in Europe? Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany in a Postwar World, 1945-1950," along with Ben W. Heineman, Jr., and Fritz Heimann in, "The Long War Against Corruption," have called Italy, alongside France, the UK, and Germany the remaining regional powers and describes Italy as a "major player" on par with the other regional powers within Europe.jstor.org foreignaffairs.org| Ben W. Heineman, Jr., and Fritz Heimannhave speaks of Italy as a major country or "player" along with Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom in,"The Long War Against Corruption".Also the Carabinieri and author B.A. Roberson have claimed Italy\'s status as a regional power.carabinieri.itbooks.google.com
Italy is a member of the G8, NATO and is also a current elected member of the United Nations Security Council.un.org, Italy also has the fourth largest economy within Europe worldbank.org with "...roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK"CIA - The World Factbook. Italy is undergoing military upgrades and reform including the making of a new aircraft carrier, the Cavour (550) and the purchase of more Eurofighter Typhoons.naval-technology.com Italy was one of the founding members of the EU and as of 2006.
Publications of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peacewww.carnegie.ru and the CSBA policy research institutewww.csbaonline.org state that Russia is a regional power.
Russia has a larger population than any other European country and by far the largest land area in the world. It has the sixth largest GDP in Europe.worldbank.org It has a permanent seat on the U.N Security Council. Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and inter-continental ballistic missiles in the world. www.fas.org It also has ballistic missile submarines, and is the only country in Europe with a strategic bomber force. However Russian defence spending is only the fourth highest in Europe.
Russia is the second largest producer www.cia.gov and exporter www.cia.gov of oil in the world, after Saudi Arabia. It has the largest proven oil reserves of any European country.www.cia.gov Russia is also the world\'s largest producer, www.cia.gov and exporter www.cia.gov of Natural gas, with the largest proven reserves in the world. www.cia.gov
The U.K is described as a regional power by scholars at the University of Cambridge www.cont-ed.cam.ac.uk It has been called a European power by a professor at Johns Hopkins University\'s School of Advanced International Studies. www.sais-jhu.edu The U.K is described as a "core great regional power" in a report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments policy research institute. www.csbaonline.org
The U.K has the fifth largest economy in The World and has the second largest GDP in Europe. worldbank.org The U.K is also a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. It has the largest defence budget within Europe and second largest in the world following the United States, and is a NATO member. www.mod.ukThe U.K possesses nuclear weapons, inter-continental ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, and is the only European country with more than one aircraft carrier and only country in the world other than the United States to have more than one aircraft carrier. The UK is also the largest producer of oil and gas in the European Union. London, the capital of the UK is the world\'s largest financial centre alongside New York City and Tokyo. Z/Yen Limited (November 2005). The Competitive Position of London as a Global Financial Centre (PDF). CityOfLondon.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2006-09-17..
Brazil and Mexico are regional powers in Latin America: they are the only countries in the Americas (besides the United States and Canada) which are part of the G8+5; the latter is the only Latin American member of the OECD and is also a party to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Brazil is considered a regional power by academia www.fntg.orgwww.blackwell-synergy.comlap.sagepub.com. Condoleezza Rice has said, "I think it is a fact that Brazil is a regional power and, in fact, Brazil is a growing global presence". www.brazzilmag.com
Brazil is the largest state by area and population in the region. Its GDP in 2006 was $1.803 trillion PPP, making it the largest economy in the region and one of the largest in the world. CIA World Factbook: Brazil In addition, it has one of the largest defense budget and armed forces in the Americas and the largest in Latin America Global Fire PowerNation Master, and is the only country in the region with an aircraft carrier. Sao Paulo.
On the global stage Brazil is a member of the G8+5, a political and economic group composed of emerging economic powers and the G8.
Mexico is considered a regional power by academics and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs of JapanOxford Analytica. Mexico has the second largest GDP in the regionCIA World Factbook, "Mexico" with $1.134 USD trillion. It has the second largest defence budget ($6.07 billion USD) CIA World Factbook, Military expenditures and armed forcesGlobal Fire Power, Mexico Military Strenght in Latin America.
Mexico is the largest exporter in the whole region, in 2006 it exported 248.8 billion USD, almost equivalent to the exports of all members of Mercosur combined, which total 258.4 billion USD CIA World Factbook, Exports. It is also the largest producer of oil in Latin America and the 6th largest in the world CIA World Factbook, Oil production
In the global stage Mexico is a member of the G8+5, a political and economic group composed of emerging economic powers and the G8.
Mexico is a member of OECD
Egypt has been called a regional power in the Middle East by former U.S Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen. www.defenselink.mil Efraim Inbar of Bar-Ilan University calls Egypt a Middle Eastern regional power and the "most important Arab state". www.biu.ac.il The Power and Interest News Report has called Egypt "one of the most important players in the Middle East". www.pinr.com Vladimir Putin has called the country a key regional power. news.bbc.co.uk Egypt has also been called an African regional power by academics. www.giga-hamburg.de
However Professor Asher Susser of Tel Aviv University talks of the "decline of the relative importance" of Egypt and says, "During Gamal Abdul Nasser’s presidency, Egypt was a leading force in setting the regional agenda. Nowadays, Egypt has very little influence beyond its borders." www.chathamhouse.org.uk Saad Eddin Ibrahim also says Egypt\'s status as a regional power under Hosni Mubarak has weakened steadily. www.benadorassociates.com
Egypt\'s population is the largest in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arab world, and the second largest in Africa. It has the second largest GDP in North Africa, which is the third largest in the Arab world, and fourth largest in Africa and the Middle East. worldbank.org Egypt has the largest military in the Arab world and Africa by manpower, and the second largest in the Middle East. www.tau.ac.il Egypt\'s military budget is the third largest in Africa, fourth largest among Arab states, and fifth largest in the Middle East. www.cia.gov
Iran is considered by academics and experts to be a regional power in the Middle East.www.chathamhouse.org.uk www.cia.gov John Simpson (World affairs editor, BBC News) named Iran as the region\'s superpower: "Iran is now a regional superpower, and ever since the Islamic revolution in 1978-9, we in the West have consistently misunderstood it." bbc.co.uk Barry Rubin professor at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel published result of his research in \'The Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA)\': "Iran is the sole regional great power today in the Middle East, because no Arab state can claim that title. It has expanded influence in Iraq, Lebanon, and among the Palestinians as well as in parts of Afghanistan. In many ways it is the patron of Syria. The growing Shi\'a-Sunni rift is adding to Iran\'s influence, which is also helped by the high price of oil; even without nuclear weapons." meria.idc.ac.il British House of Commons\'s Foreign Affairs Committee have noted Iran as an emerging great power. parliament.uk
Iran is Persia (name change happened in 1935), one of the most ancient and influential cultures in the world. The Persian influence can be observed throughout the region and the world with many countries speaking Persian language such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, or for its renowned poets such as Rumi.
Iran has the second largest GDP in the region.worldbank.org It has the fourth largest defence budget in the region,www.cia.gov however, Iran\'s military was called the Middle East\'s most powerful by General John Abizaid chief of United States Central Command. www.spacewar.com Iran has developed Medium-range ballistic missiles.
Iran is the world\'s fourth largest producer, www.cia.gov and fifth largest exporter www.cia.gov of oil. It has the third largest proven reserves of oil in the world. www.cia.gov Iran is also the sixth largest producer of natural gas, www.cia.gov with the second largest proven reserves. www.cia.gov
Israel has been considered a regional power in the Middle East since the 1967 Six-Day War and 1973 Yom Kippur War. In both cases Israel defeated numerically superior armies. Israel is called a regional power in a report written in conjunction with the U.S. Army War College. www.stormingmedia.us It has also been called a Middle Eastern regional power by other academics. www.lrb.co.ukwww.chathamhouse.org.uk In the opinion of Avner Cohen and a former acting director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; "Israel is a regional power, in fact the strongest military power in the region." www.acronym.org.uk Israel\'s only short coming is that it has no influence in the region.
Israel has the fourth largest GDP in the region.worldbank.org It has the third largest defence budget in the region.www.cia.gov Israel is the only country in the region thought to have nuclear weapons, which could be delivered by the Jericho medium-range ballistic missile.
Saudi Arabia has been called a regional power by former Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.findarticles.com BBC News has called Saudi Arabia a "regional power-house".news.bbc.co.uk YaleGlobal Online has an article describing Saudi as "a leading regional power".yaleglobal.yale.edu CNN,edition.cnn.com and PBSwww.pbs.org have also described the country as a regional power. It is difficult to identify Saudi Arabia\'s military capabilities since it has never conducted a major military operation.
Saudi Arabia has a special significance in the Muslim world, as it contains Islam\'s two most holy sites, Mecca and Medina. Although Saudi Arabia contains locations that are of religious significants it lacks religious persuasion with the Muslim world; most notably the break down of the cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Fatah that was held in Mecca. It has the third largest GDP in the region after Turkey and Iran,worldbank.org and the largest defence budget in the region.www.cia.gov The Kingdom is also the world\'s largest producer www.cia.gov and exporter www.cia.gov of crude oil, and has the world\'s largest proven reserves of crude oil.www.cia.gov
Turkey is situated in Asia-Minor with a small part in Southeast Europe. Although it is not normally considered part of the Middle East, it borders Iran, Iraq, and Syria, and has been called a regional power in the Middle East by academics.;Stratfor: "The Geopolitics of Turkey", by George Friedman. July 31, 2007.www.turkishweekly.netwww.cfr.org www.turkishpolicy.com According to Professor Asher Susser of Tel Aviv University; "What is new about the Middle East is the rise of non-Arab players, namely Turkey, Israel and particularly Iran, as regional powers in parallel with the decline of the relative importance of what were once key Arab players in the region, namely Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia." And "Turkish participation in the Middle East is unavoidable and its territorial proximity to the Middle East alone is significant" www.chathamhouse.org.uk
Turkey\'s GDP is larger than any Middle Eastern countries.worldbank.org Turkey is a member of NATO. Its military expenditure is second, after Saudi Arabia but ahead of Iran. www.cia.gov
The United States is considered a Superpower. Analyzing American Power in the Post-Cold War Era. Retrieved on 2007-02-28. The Encyclopedia Britannica states that "the Soviet collapse left the United States with undisputed status as the world\'s most powerful country", and calls the U.S. "the world\'s sole superpower". www.britannica.com
It has the largest GDP in the world.worldbank.org The U.S. also has the third largest population in the world, and is a permanent member of the UN security council. The U.S. defence budget is the largest in the world, www.cia.gov and is almost equal to the combined military spending of all other nations. www.armscontrolcenter.org The U.S. has the second largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and inter-continental ballistic missiles in the world after Russia. www.fas.orgIt also has more aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines than any other country, and is the only country apart from Russia that operates strategic bomber aircraft. The U.S. is the most influential member in NATO.
U.S. oil production is the third highest in the world www.cia.gov It is the world\'s second largest producer of natural gas. www.cia.gov
Australia is considered a regional power by academics at the Australian National University. www.routledge.com Former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer has claimed "Australia is an especially significant regional power in our neighbourhood". www.foreignminister.gov.au
Australia is the world’s sixth largest country by area. It has by far the largest GDP in Oceania, and the fourth largest in the wider Asia-Pacific region. worldbank.org Australia\'s defence spending is also the largest in Oceania, and fourth largest in Asia-Pacific. www.cia.gov Australia is a member of the ANZUS military alliance with the USA and New Zealand.
India has been identified as an emerging Great PowerPerkovich, George. "Is India a Major Power?". The Washington Quarterly (27.1 Winter 2003-04). Encarta - Great Powers Dilip Mohite (Spring 1993). "Swords and Ploughshares- India: The Fourth Great Power?" (HTML). Vol. 7, No. 3. Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.. It is also often referred as South Asia\'s natural hegemon because of its overwhelming dominance of the region in all aspects – political, economic, military, cultural, and demographic. India contributes 77% of South Asia\'s population, 75% of its GDP, 77 percent of its territory, 80% of its defence budget, and 82% of its armed forces. India is the world\'s most populous democracy. It has the largest GDP in the region,worldbank.org and has impressive GDP growth which sits today at 9.2%India\'s Economic Growth Unexpectedly Quickens to 9.2% According to political analyst C. Raja Mohan: "India\'s omnidirectional engagement with the great powers has paid off handsomely. Never before has India had such expansive relations with all the major powers at the same time—a result not only of India\'s increasing weight in the global economy and its growing power potential, but also of New Delhi\'s savvy and persistent diplomacy." www.realclearpolitics.com
With the largest defence budget in the region,www.cia.gov India possesses nuclear weapons, intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and is the only South Asian country with an aircraft carrier. It has successfully developed a Ballistic Missile Defense system, becoming only the fourth country to do so. In 2007, India became the fourth nation in the world to complete atmospheric reentry for Manned Space Mission, an indication of its recent scientific progress.Hindustan Times Giant step in space as capsule returns
Indonesia has been described as a regional power in Southeast Asia by academia. www.pinr.com www.hoover.org www.iht.com www.rand.org www.aims.ca www.fundforpeace.org According to the Power and Interest News Report; "Given Jakarta\'s powerful military establishment and continuing investment in military hardware and development, Indonesia will emerge as an even more powerful player in Southeast Asia. If the state is able to hold together in the face of the mounting social, economic and natural challenges, it will potentially emerge as an even more powerful regional player." www.pinr.com
Indonesia has by far the largest population in Southeast Asia, and the fourth largest in the world. It has the largest GDP in the region, worldbank.org but only has the fourth largest defence spending. www.cia.gov
South Africa has been described by academics as an emerging or existing regional power. www.iss.co.za www.giga-hamburg.de www.aims.ca www.essex.ac.uk According to academics at Sheffield University; "since 1994, the economic and political power of democratic South Africa has enjoyed unfettered access to the entire (Southern Africa) region. Take-overs of local firms and direct investment by South African companies dominate neighbouring economies dependent on Pretoria for transport links and energy supplies. No less important are those occasions when Pretoria chooses not to flex its muscles, notably the current crisis in Zimbabwe." www.shef.ac.uk
South Africa has the largest GDP in Africa worldbank.org, and the largest defence budget of any African country. www.cia.gov
Nigeria has been called an "emerging regional power",www.essex.ac.uk "a regional power in West Africa," www.h-net.org and "the undisputed regional power in the West African region"http://www.codesria.org/Links/conferences/anniversary-dakar/fadahunsi.pdf by academics. Former U.S Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas R. Pickering has called Nigeria "a regional power house", that plays "an important role in West Africa". www.globalsecurity.org
Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, and the 9th largest in the world. Nigeria\'s GDP is by far the largest in West Africa, and the second largest in Africa. worldbank.org Nigeria has the largest defence budget in West Africa, and the 7th largest in Africa. www.cia.gov Nigeria is Africa\'s largest and the world\'s 12th largest producer of Crude oil.www.cia.gov It also has the 10th largest Oil reserves in the world. www.cia.gov
| Power in international relations | |
|---|---|
| Types of power | Power (sociology) · Soft power · Hard power · Political power (Power politics • Realpolitik) |
| Types of power status | Great power · Middle power · Regional power · Superpower (Energy superpower) · Hyperpower |
| Geopolitics | African Century · American Century · Asian Century · Chinese Century · European Century · Indian Century · Pacific Century |
| Theory and history | Historical powers · Polarity in international relations · Power projection · Power transition theory · Second superpower · Superpower collapse · Superpower disengagement |
| Organizations and groups | G8 · G8+5 · BRIMC · BRIC · Next Eleven · SCO |
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