scholarly journals How to wield regional power from afar: a conceptual discussion illustrated by the case of France in Central Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Mattheis
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Regional Organisations ◽  
Conceptual Discussion ◽  
External Actors

AbstractWhat does it take to belong to a region and exert power over it? The scholarship on regional powers has elaborated sophisticated indicators to establish nuances of power, but the depiction of the region has remained vague. Most approaches are characterised by a narrow territorial interpretation that does not properly take into account power wielded by geographically distant actors. Using the case of France in Central Africa this article argues that a distant state can a) hold a dominant share of military, economic and soft power, b) use this power for hegemonic behaviour and c) be recognised as a leader in the region by both internal and external actors. The main specificity of distant actors as regional powers is the greater necessity for a legitimising narrative. France tackles this hurdle with the help of regional organisations that reproduce imperial structures. By holding the informal status of a quasi-member in regional governance structures, France participates in region-building processes from the inside rather than the outside.

EXTERNAL TRIGGERS OF INTEGRATION PROCESSES IN CENTRAL ASIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
VALERY MIKHAYLENKO ◽  
◽  
RUSTAMI SUHROB
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
One Belt One Road ◽  
External Actors ◽  
Available Resources

The article examines the influence of external actors on the processes of integration and regionalization in Central Asia. The authors view Central Asia as a region undergoing reformatting. In their previously published articles, they analyzed intraregional processes that affect integration. In this article, I analyze the role of external actors, namely, global and major regional powers in the formation of the region. The authors note the increased competition from integration projects in the region, especially transport and logistics infrastructure projects. In this regard, the article raises the topic of pairing integration projects proposed by external actors. Using the example of the analysis of attempts to pair the Russian EAEU project and the Chinese one “Belt, One Road”, the authors point to the difficulties of achieving interaction between competing partners. The article notes that in spite of the available resources for using “soft power” in the region, Russia must take into account the growing rivalry on the part of external actors for influence in the region and respond flexibly to emerging challenges.

scholarly journals How to compare regional powers: analytical concepts and research topics

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (04) ◽  
pp. 881-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
DETLEF NOLTE
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Traditional Concept ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Middle Powers

AbstractAlthough the concept of regional power is frequently used in International Relations (IR) literature, there is no consensus regarding the defining characteristics of a regional power. The article discusses different theoretical approaches that address the topic of power hierarchies in international politics and make reference to the concept of regional power. Marking differences as well as common ground with the more traditional concept of ‘middle powers’, the article outlines an analytical concept of regional powers adequate for contemporary IR research. The analytical dimensions of the framework may be employed to differentiate regional powers from other states and to compare regional powers with regard to their power status or relative power. Furthermore, the article investigates the possible repercussions of the rise of regional powers for international politics and discusses the probable importance and functions of regional governance structures for regional powers.

Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vipin Narang
Keyword(s):  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Nuclear Forces ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Nuclear Strategy ◽  
Weak Institutions ◽  
Nuclear Age ◽  
International Stability ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern Era

The world is in a second nuclear age in which regional powers play an increasingly prominent role. These states have small nuclear arsenals, often face multiple active conflicts, and sometimes have weak institutions. How do these nuclear states—and potential future ones—manage their nuclear forces and influence international conflict? Examining the reasoning and deterrence consequences of regional power nuclear strategies, this book demonstrates that these strategies matter greatly to international stability and it provides new insights into conflict dynamics across important areas of the world such as the Middle East, East Asia, and South Asia. The book identifies the diversity of regional power nuclear strategies and describes in detail the posture each regional power has adopted over time. Developing a theory for the sources of regional power nuclear strategies, the book offers the first systematic explanation of why states choose the postures they do and under what conditions they might shift strategies. It then analyzes the effects of these choices on a state's ability to deter conflict. Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, the book shows that, contrary to a bedrock article of faith in the canon of nuclear deterrence, the acquisition of nuclear weapons does not produce a uniform deterrent effect against opponents. Rather, some postures deter conflict more successfully than others. This book considers the range of nuclear choices made by regional powers and the critical challenges they pose to modern international security.

A Perspective from the Middle East

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nida Alahmad
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Arab League ◽  
Regional Perspective

This chapter argues that, while we can conceive of a ‘global’ or a ‘regional’ governance structure, a ‘critical regional perspective’ is not possible for three reasons. First, there is a problem of governance as a technology of ordering the world that requires the production of abstracted forms of knowledge; second, the problem of determining what a critical ‘regional’ perspective on global governance might be; and third, a critical perspective that would account for the daily lives of people cannot be produced by regional institutions, which are rarely representative of popular democratic movements. In the Middle East, the Arab League has historically been weak, reflecting turbulent regional power relations. As such, it is difficult to identify a regional perspective based on the League’s governance practices. If a regional political counter-perspective to global governance is not possible (as in the Middle East), one cannot speak of a cultural (counter) perspective on governance.

scholarly journals Regional governance in the new CEE member states of the EU

Competitio ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Daniel Pop
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Regional Policy ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Member States ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Level Government

This paper discusses how the CEE-10 countries complied with the EU conditionality in the field of regional policy, examining whether the territorial reforms implemented were carried out leading to the enrooting of sub-national regional governance structures. Following the discussion of the EU requirements in the field of regional policy, I turn to a case by case analysis of how the meso-level government tiers were set up in the CEE-10 countries. The analysis leads to the finding that the limited interest in the CEE-10 countries to develop extensive regional governance structures by creating new autonomous sub-national governance structures coupled with the frequent contradictory and often unofficial requirements by the European Commission during negotiations, has led to a weak institutionalization of meso-level governments when compared to the institutional and policy structures within the EU-15.

The Subnational Region

2017 ◽  
pp. 96-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Lawrie
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
The State ◽  
Hard Power ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Sydney Australia ◽  
The Ideal

Most states worldwide possess two or three levels of government, from national to provincial and localities. Subnational governing arrangements are emerging in response to widespread decentralization, globalization, and urbanization, with this level increasingly considered the ideal spatial scale for effectively harnessing governing capacity. Yet regional governing arrangements often lack the traditional statutory and administrative governing tools of the state. Instead, they tend to rely on voluntary co-ordination and co-operation. Emboldened with more traditional governing tools, provincial and local states can work against these networks to protect their own power. This case study of Sydney, Australia, examines the dimensions of hard and soft power in a regional governing network and the role of provincial and local actors in determining the prospects for regional governance. In the absence of state-like mechanisms of hard power, the soft power on which regional governing networks rely will likely remain inferior for the governing task.

Effective Hegemonic Influence in Africa: An Analysis of Nigeria’s ‘Hegemonic’ Position

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 932-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olusola Ogunnubi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Stability Theory ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Hegemonic Stability ◽  
Level Of Analysis

This paper examines the utility of the hegemonic stability theory in understanding regional power dynamics within Africa. The study operationalizes the concept of regional hegemony by drawing insights from a comparative foreign policy analysis of African regional powers, with emphasis on Nigeria. Using a largely qualitative methodology supplemented with primary data, the paper examines the underlying assertions of Nigeria’s perceived ‘hegemonic’ influence. Through the use of the hegemonic stability theory as a theoretical lens, this paper argues that Nigeria’s foreign policy shows few signs of a continental hegemonic disposition. In applying this theory at a regional level of analysis, the study finds very little empirical evidence that it fits the African regional context. In short, hegemonic claims in Africa are mere (un)official rhetoric and lack substance.

Local and Regional Governance Structures

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Hong Kim ◽  
Nathan Jurey
Keyword(s):  
Regional Governance ◽  
Governance Structures
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