ABSTRACT

In the post-Cold War scholarship on security and international relations, a small but important trend began to emerge at the beginning of the 21st century: regional security studies. This chapter utilizes the term "Regional Hegemon" as the generic term for the concept of a powerful state that is much larger or more capable than its neighboring region. It also utilizes Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios as of 2000 as a first cut to determine regional dominance; if a potential regional hegemon has a GDP equal to the rest of the identified region combined. Thus, six regional hegemons are examined: the United States within Latin America and the Caribbean, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and its successor, the Russian Federation, within the "Near Abroad" of former Soviet states, India within South Asia, South Africa within southern Africa, Nigeria within West Africa, and Brazil within South America. The chapter examines the behavior of regional hegemons in general and China in particular.