ABSTRACT
The previous chapter provided the initial step beyond the sole consideration of relative power in the RPSF’s approach toward identifying regional powers and exploring the nature of their influences on regional security orders. In this chapter we examine the second of the RPSF roles central in shaping and maintaining the regional security order, custodianship. We define custodianship as the engagement in efforts to maintain and/or stabilize the current security order. This can include the actual deterrence of challenges to the order within the region or actions that provide resources and supplies for stabilization of security concerns. It also can include specific efforts to maintain coordination within the RSC to act against internal threats. 1 As the term implies, it is a care-taking and management role, focused on contemporary security threats and seeking to manage these threats within the context of the existing order. Just as the provision of leadership builds upon the possession of a substantial share of regional power, we assert that the role of custodianship builds upon these first two components of the framework in understanding what the regional power does and how it influences the security order.
