scholarly journals To lead or not to lead: regional powers and regional leadership

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detlef Nolte ◽  
Luis L. Schenoni
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Neoclassical Realism ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Domestic Constraints ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Domestic Level

AbstractRecent trends demonstrate that states with sufficient capabilities to be granted regional power status by its peers (primarily other states within their region) can nonetheless renounce regional leadership. This article analyzes the puzzling behavior of these detached or reluctant regional powers. We argue that resorting to an approach grounded in neoclassical realism is helpful to explain why regional powers might not exercise leadership. In this article regional leadership is conceptualized as an auxiliary goal within the grand strategy of a regional power. This goal will be pursued in the absence of certain structural and domestic constraints. Great power competition determines the incentives for regional leadership at the structural level. Capacity to extract and mobilize resources for foreign policy affects the decision to pursue leadership at the domestic level. We apply the analytical framework to analyze Brazil’s detachment from South America after the Cardoso and Lula presidencies.

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.

scholarly journals Realismo Neoclássico e o Nível Doméstico: A dança das variáveis intervenientes

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-169
Author(s):  
Gustavo Fornari Dall'Agnol
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Neoclassical Realism ◽  
The Future ◽  
Realist Ontology ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
Do So

O presente artigo visa a explorar teoricamente o nível doméstico no programa de pesquisa do Realismo Neoclássico. Para tal, revisa-se o programa desde suas origens na década de 1990 até seu desenvolvimento mais atual, aqui analisado na obra de Ripsman, Lobell e Taliaferro (2016). Faz-se uma revisão crítica do emprego das variáveis domésticas, de maneira, aqui argumentada, indiscriminada e prejudicial ao futuro do programa de pesquisa. Ademais irá propor-se que o Realismo Neoclássico, como possível solução, reorganize as variáveis de nível doméstico empregadas em suas análises e construções teóricas, de maneira a dar primazia a variáveis mais ligadas à ontologia e epistemologia realista. Conclui-se que essa é uma maneira para superar as críticas feitas ao programa de pesquisa, que do ponto de vista do presente estudo, vem contribuindo decisivamente para o estudo da política internacional e pode continuar a fazê-lo.     Abstract: The present paper aims at theoretically exploring the domestic level in the Neoclassical Realist research program. In order to do so, it analyzes the program since its origins in the 1990 towards its most recent development, expressed by the work of Ripsman, Lobell and Taliaferro (2016). A critical review of the employment of domestic variables is realized, arguing that they are introduced in a non-systematic manner and are an obstacle for the future of the research program. Beyond that, it will be proposed, that Neoclassical Realism, as a possible solution, reorganizes its domestic level variables employed in their analysis and theoretical constructions, in a manner of giving primacy to variables closer to the realist ontology and epistemology. The conclusion is that this is one way of overcoming the critics towards the research program, which from the perspective of this work, has been contributing decisively to the study of international politics and can keep doing so. Key-words: Neoclassical Realism; Domestic Variables; Realpolitik.       Recebido em: junho/2019 Aprovado em: dezembro/2020

The transnational policy process for REDD+ and domestic policy entrepreneurship in developing countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1418-1436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Jodoin
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
Governance Arrangement ◽  
Policy Entrepreneurship ◽  
The Status ◽  
Domestic Level

This article aims to understand the complex relationship between transnational pathways of policy influence and strategies of domestic policy entrepreneurship in the pursuit of REDD+ in developing countries. Since 2007, a complex governance arrangement exerting influence through the provision of international rules, norms, markets, knowledge, and material assistance has supported the diffusion of REDD+ policies around the world. These transnational pathways of influence have played an important role in the launch of REDD+ policy-making processes at the domestic level. Indeed, over 60 developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have initiated multi-year programmes of policy reform, research, and capacity-building that aim to lay the groundwork for the implementation of REDD+. However, there is emerging evidence that the nature of policy change associated with these REDD+ policy efforts ultimately depends on the mediating influence of domestic factors. This article offers an analytical framework that focuses on whether and how domestic policy actors can seize the opportunities provided by transnational policy pathways for REDD+ to challenge or reinforce the status quo in the governance of forests and related sectors.

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.

scholarly journals Unpacking the politics of great power responsibility: Nationalist and Maoist China in international order-building

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Loke
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International Order ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
World War ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Historical Agency ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Maoist China ◽  
Institutional Construction

Despite its prominence in the discourse of international politics, the concept of ‘great power responsibility’ remains largely unmapped in International Relations. Existing accounts tend to focus their analysis at a structural level and do not pay adequate attention to agency and processes of deliberation, negotiation and contestation. Drawing on constructivist insights to extend existing English School scholarship, this article unpacks great power responsibility as a socially constructed and negotiated concept. It develops a typology to further investigate the politics of great power responsibility and focuses specifically on four categories: the location, object, nature and rationale of responsibility (respectively, responsibility by whom, to whom, for what and why). This conceptual framework is applied to China at two important international order-building junctures: institutional construction during World War II and institutional accommodation in the Cold War. In doing so, the article illuminates China’s historical agency and uncovers the processes of both conflict and concordance that have shaped Chinese engagements with the question of great power responsibility.

scholarly journals Attracting Neighbors: Soft Power Competition in East Asia

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96
Author(s):  
Sohn Yul
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
China And Japan ◽  
Zero Sum

This article explores the dynamics of competition by means of soft power among two key regional states, China and Japan. It demonstrates that, in their embrace of regionalism, each has concentrated soft power on East Asian neighbors by competitively proposing regional visions that would best position it in the regional leadership stakes. China took the initiative, Japan responded quickly, and China is now striking back. This does not necessarily mean that the liberal claim that East Asia is "ripe for cooperation" is misplaced. Nor does it suggest that the realist claim of "ripe for rivalry" better represents the reality. Rather, this article argues that regional powers compete in order to attract neighbors. Since this contest involves embracing others, it is not necessarily a zero-sum game. This article evaluates the success, or lack thereof, of the two countries` efforts in order to learn what they imply for Korea.

Neoclassical Realist Analyses of Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiel Foulon
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International System ◽  
System Level ◽  
Neoclassical Realism ◽  
State Behavior ◽  
Unit Level ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Neoclassical realism offers insights into why particular foreign policy choices are made, and under what systemic conditions unit-level factors are likely to intervene between systemic stimuli and state behavior. Neoclassical realism brings a multilevel framework that combines both systemic incentives and mediating unit-level variables to arrive at conclusions about foreign policy choices in particular cases. It sets the relative distribution of capabilities in the international system as the independent variable and adds mediating variables at the unit level of analysis. Variables at the domestic level of analysis, such as the role of ideology, the foreign policy executive’s perceptions, resource extraction, and domestic institutions, add explanatory power to system-level approaches. Neoclassical realism accounts for state behavior in a way that a more parsimonious systems-level theory is unable to achieve. But this rich theoretical framework also faces controversies and criticisms: Is neoclassical realism distinct from other theories and what is its added value? Neoclassical realism overlaps only to a small extent with alternative theoretical approaches. The domestic level of analysis dominates Foreign Policy Analysis (a subfield of International Relations). Unit-level variables suffice to explain state behavior in bottom-up approaches, and opening the structure of the international system for fundamental rethinking is central to constructivism. Neither explains the system-level conditions under which unit-level variables mediate between systemic stimuli and foreign policy. Neoclassical realism analyzes and explains a given foreign policy that more parsimonious or alternative theoretical approaches cannot.

Fiji will play outsized role in climate diplomacy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Island States ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
Multilateral Diplomacy

Subject Fijian diplomacy. Significance Fiji’s multilateral diplomacy will receive a boost in 2017 by holding two influential positions as president of the UN General Assembly, and president of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s COP23 session in November -- the first time a Pacific island state has held either role. Its ‘Look North’ policy continues to seek deeper cooperation with China, Indonesia and Russia at the expense of traditional regional powers Australia and New Zealand. Impacts Fiji’s diplomatic roles in 2017 provide China -- a longstanding ally and its largest aid donor -- with greater influence in UN processes. Seeking further concessions from Australia and New Zealand, Fiji will hold out on the long-delayed PACER Plus regional trade agreement. Domestic politics remain the government’s main concern, but Fiji continues to claim regional leadership among the Pacific island states.

scholarly journals Hegemonic Challenges of Iran and Russia in the Transcaucasia Region

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Sadegh Yahyapour ◽  
Mosayeb GharehBeygi
Keyword(s):  
Great Power ◽  
International Level ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
East And West ◽  
North And South

The Caucasus is perhaps best described as a mosaic of peoples ancient and modern intertwined across a complex, often inaccessible geography that has made it a crossroads linking not only east and west but equally north and south. The aim of this paper is to enhance the understanding of future Iran and Russia challenges in Transcaucasia. Russian post-Soviet geopolitics invokes Eurasianism as its inner rationale and meaning, as a greater good that imbues pragmatic, interest based politics with a sense of mission. Although Russia remains a strong regional power with firm position on international level it is still hard for Moscow to accept loss of the position of great power. The methodology of this research is descriptive-analytical and it attempts to give a geopolitical answer to the question that how Iran can gains a hegemony in the Transcaucasia region?

scholarly journals A Leader Without Followers? The Growing Divergence Between the Regional and Global Performance of Brazilian Foreign Policy

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Malamud
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Policy Planning ◽  
Regional Power ◽  
Relative Paucity ◽  
Global Power ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Global Performance ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
Regional Influence

AbstractBrazilian diplomats and academics alike have long regarded regional leadership as a springboard to global recognition. Yet Brazil's foreign policy has not translated the country's structural and instrumental resources into effective regional leadership. Brazil's potential followers have not aligned with its main goals, such as a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and Directorship-General of the World Trade Organization; some have even challenged its regional influence. Nevertheless, Brazil has been recognized as an emergent global power. This article analyzes the growing mismatch between the regional and global performance of Brazilian foreign policy and shows how both theoretical expectations and policy planning were “luckily foiled” by unforeseen developments. It argues that because of regional power rivalries and a relative paucity of resources, Brazil is likely to consolidate itself as a middle global power before gaining acceptance as a leader in its region.

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