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

Mattheis, Frank

doi:10.1057/s41311-021-00347-8

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…A further characteristic of regional powers is that these states "are assumed to strongly influence the interactions taking place at the regional level, thereby contributing in a significant way to shaping the regional order, or, in other terms, the degree of cooperation or conflict or the level of institutionalization in their regions" (Destradi 2010, 904). The provision of public goods in the regional sphere and the activism and leadership toward establishing and maintaining regional institutions are two further mechanisms to identify a regional power (Destradi 2010;Hulse 2016;Mattheis 2021).…”

Section: Pathways and Theoretical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is worth mentioning that, besides the general consensus on the literature that a regional power exerts influence over a delimited region(Nolte 2010;Destradi 2010), there are visions suggesting that regional powers do not always belong geographically to the said region(Mattheis 2021). In this sense,Mattheis (2021) analyzes the case of France and its role in shaping Central African regional dynamics, institutions, and power relations.…”

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confidence: 99%

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South Korea as a Middle Power in East Asia?

Rubiolo

Aguirre

2023

World Affairs

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This article addresses South Korea's foreign policy toward ASEAN from a middle power approach. Using role theory, we argue that South Korea is developing a regional role to diversify its traditional ties, mitigate local constraints, and materialize its regional interests. We analyze the economic and political dimensions according to the share of trade and investment flows to the region and the development of cooperation initiatives and institutional ties. In the latter, we focus on Moon's presidency and the New Southern Policy, including a reference to the official development assistance. We also address its role in the South China Sea conflict to examine the strategic restrictions in this scenario. We state two main constraints: the need to keep the United States as a safety-guarantee partner and the critical role of China as an economic partner. Finally, we explore the challenges that a power competition scenario poses for Seoul within Southeast Asia.

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Section: Pathways and Theoretical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

South Korea as a Middle Power in East Asia?

Rubiolo

Aguirre

2023

World Affairs

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“…3 Much of the existing research on regional powers conceptualizes the state as a unitary actor. Although there are exceptions (Beck 2014;Kausch 2017;Mattheis 2021), non-state actors have not featured significantly as either bearers of regional powerhood themselves or as a major influence on state regional powers' foreign policymaking. Moreover, differences in statehood (which go beyond the difference between democracies and autocracies) are often left out of research designs.…”

Section: Regional Powers Space and Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional powers and the politics of scale

2023

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This article discusses the usefulness of studying regional powers through a ‘politics-of-scale’ lens. We argue that this approach, borrowed from political geography, helps to better understand whether and how actors navigate the complex landscape of ‘scales’ in international politics. The combination of regional powers literature with political geography allows us to grasp the unexplored nuances of how power behaviour transcends regional and global levels and what actors (beyond the state) and processes constitute it. We test the empirical applicability of ‘politics-of-scale’ with the help of two country studies within the field of environmental politics: Japan, whose regional power status has been contested, but has used cooperation in the field of environment to establish itself as a regional leader within different spaces of its neighbourhood and Australia, which has reconstructed its climate regionalism in order support domestic politics and related to important domestic interest groups.

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“…This also applies to transversal concepts that are determinant for regional security spaces, such as the notion of regional powers. A regional security space is accordingly defined as the geographic area within which a state holds a sizable power share and within which its capabilities are recognised (Mattheis, 2021). Especially in historic perspectives of imperialism, regional powers would be closely associated with maritime projections.…”

Section: Regional Security and Maritime Spacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ocean Free of Nuclear Weapons? Regional Security Governance in the South Atlantic

Mattheis

Seabra

2022

PaG

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Even though oceans are pivotal for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, they constitute a blind spot in the global non-proliferation regime. This article analyses how regional security governance mechanisms may fill such gaps by bringing a maritime focus to non-proliferation studies. With three nuclear-weapons-free zones and one zone of peace surrounding or covering its maritime space, the South Atlantic serves as an illustrative case to understand the provision of security governance for the seas. The article identifies a range of legal, political, and practical challenges that can impede regional initiatives from achieving security sovereignty over maritime spaces. However, while non-proliferation might remain precarious, these mechanisms are not without success, as they serve to establish the opposition to nuclear weapons as a recognised norm, both at the UN level and among the Global South. The narrative of non-proliferation also allows regional states to justify the pursuit of security objectives. The article concludes by outlining the conditions for regional maritime governance to become more effective in terms of non-proliferation.

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

Cited by 8 publications

References 84 publications

South Korea as a Middle Power in East Asia?

South Korea as a Middle Power in East Asia?

Regional powers and the politics of scale

An Ocean Free of Nuclear Weapons? Regional Security Governance in the South Atlantic

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