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Regional Powers Still Matter!
Regionalmächte spielen immer noch eine Rolle
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies - Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien
Abstract Economic and domestic political crises as well as global structural shifts that have resulted in a much tighter interconnection of events, actors, and institutions across the national, regional, and global levels have called into question the ability of so-called regional powers, such as Brazil, Ind... view more
Economic and domestic political crises as well as global structural shifts that have resulted in a much tighter interconnection of events, actors, and institutions across the national, regional, and global levels have called into question the ability of so-called regional powers, such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, to have a serious impact on global politics in the remainder of the twenty-first century.
Regional powers have been considered important contributors to regional and global order because they are expected to, for example, ensure stability and effective regional cooperation in a world that is increasingly difficult to govern.
Yet, the actual outcomes of their regional projections have been mixed. While some regional powers, such as Brazil or South Africa, seem to have lost clout in the past few years, other countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Turkey, are striving for regional power status.
Regional powers face contradictory demands in regard to their global and regional policies. Being at the interface between regional and global politics poses particular challenges and often leads to indecisive, reluctant, and sometimes contradictory policy choices.
New and old regional powers are, further, facing important domestic challenges, such as significant downturns in their economies, corruption, and reduced state capacity to mobilise resources, as well as growing populist sentiments and even a drift towards authoritarianism. These issues create disruption in their foreign policies and represent potential challenges, due to unpredictability, for both research and policymaking.
Nevertheless, "regional powers" is still a useful analytical concept with which to make sense of some of these trends by focusing on the regional dimension of international politics. Being a regional power does not preclude being a rising power or even a great power in global terms.
Germany's and other Western countries' foreign policies often treat rising and regional powers as hubs of stability and economic prosperity. Yet, in a -changing world order, a better understanding of regional dynamics and tensions is needed: regional powers do not automatically serve as multipliers of policies within their regions given the sometimes low degree of regional integration. Their ability and willingness to influence their neighbourhood may change over time and policy fields; this variance should not be underestimated.... view less
Keywords
international relations; international system; research topic; development potential; foreign policy; international leading power; India; Brazil; Republic of South Africa; domestic policy; pressure-group politics; world politics; international cooperation
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Free Keywords
Regionale Führungsmacht; Regionale internationale Beziehungen; Status und Rolle im internationalen System; Entwicklungsperspektive; Entwicklungstendenz; Internationale Prozesse; Weltweit; Global; Einflusssphäre; Außenpolitische Interessen; Bestimmungsfaktoren der Außenpolitik; Außenpolitische Strategie; Innerstaatliche Faktoren der Außenpolitik
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
City
Hamburg
Page/Pages
10 p.
Series
GIGA Focus Global, 2
ISSN
1862-3581
Status
Published Version; reviewed