Bir bölgesel gücü tanımlayan birbirinden çok az farklı tanımlar vardır:
Politik Araştırmalar için Avrupa Ortaklık Komisyonu'na göre bölgesel bir güç, "coğrafi olarak tanımlanmış olan bir bölgeye ait olan, bu bölgeyi ekonomik ve askeri açıdan etkileyen, bölgede hegemonya işlevi görebilecek güce ve güç kaynaklarının kullanımına istekli olacak şekilde dünya ölçeğinde belli bir etkiye sahip olmalı ve komşuları tarafından bölgesel lider olarak tanınmış ve hatta kabullenilmiş bir ülke olmalıdır."[1]
Alman Küresel ve Bölgesel Araştırmalar Enstitüsüne göre ise bir bölgesel güç mutlaka;
Kendine ait kimliği ile tanımlanabilir bir bölgenin parçası olmalı.
Bölgesel bir güç imajına sahip çıkmalı.
Kendi ideolojik yapılanması kadar bölgenin coğrafik boyutunda kararlı etkisini göstermeli.
"Southern Africa is home to the other of sub-Saharan Africa's regional powers: South Africa. South Africa is more than just a regional power; it is by far the most developed and economically powerful country in Africa, and now it is able to use that influence in Africa more than during the days of apartheid (white rule), when it was ostracized." See David Lynch, Trade and Globalization (Lanham, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010), p.51.
"Argentina has been the leading military and economic power in the Southern Cone in the Twentieth Century." See Michael Morris, "The Srait of Magellan," in International Straits of the World, edited by Gerard Mangone (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishes, 1988), p.63.
"Secondary regional powers in Huntington's view include Great Britain, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina." See Tom Nierop, "The Clash of Civilisations," in The Territorial Factor, edited by Gertjan Dijkink and Hans Knippenberg (Amsterdam: Vossiuspers UvA, 2001), p.61.
"The US has created a foundation upon which the regional powers, especially Argentina and Brazil, can developed their own rules for further managing regional relations." See David Lake, "Regional Hierarchies," in Globalising the Regional, edited by Rick Fawn (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.55.
"The southern cone of South America, including Argentina and Brazil, the two regional powers, has recently become a pluralistic security community." See Emanuel Adler and Patricia Greve, "Overlapping regional mechanisms of security governance," in Globalising the Regional, edited by Rick Fawn (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.78.
"[...] notably by linking the Southern Cone's rival regional powers, Brazil and Argentina." See Alejandra Ruiz-Dana, Peter Goldschag, Edmundo Claro and Hernan Blanco, "Regional integration, trade and conflicts in Latin America," in Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution, edited by Shaheen Rafi Khan (New York: Routledge, 2009), p.18.
Samuel P. Huntington, "Culture, Power, and Democracy," in Globalization, Power, and Democracy, edited by Marc Plattner and Aleksander Smolar (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000), p.6.
""The driving force behind the adoption of the MERCOSUR agreement was similar to that of the establishment of the EU: the hope of limiting the possibilities of traditional military hostility between the major regional powers, Brazil and Argentina." See Anestis Papadopoulos, The International Dimension of EU Competition Law and Policy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p.283.
Perkovich, George. "Is India a Major Power?"(PDF). The Washington Quarterly (27.1 Winter 2003–04). 27 Şubat 2008 tarihinde kaynağından(PDF) arşivlendi. Erişim tarihi: 13 Aralık 2007.
""Iran is a strong regional power, in a far better shape than Pakistan because f its economic capabilities, rich mineral and energy resources, and internal stability, added to its far greater geostrategic importance." In Hooman Peimani, Nuclear Proliferation in the Indian Subcontinent (Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2000), p.30.
Butenschøn, Nils A. (1992). "Israel as a Regional Great Power: Paradoxes of Regional Alienation". Regional Great Powers in International Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. ss.95-119. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-12661-3_5. ISBN9781349126637.
Anoushiravan Ehteshami (28 Eylül 2018). "Saudi Arabia as a Resurgent Regional Power". The International Spectator. 53 (4): 75-94. doi:10.1080/03932729.2018.1507722.
"Operation Alba may be considered one of the most important instances in which Italy has acted as a regional power, taking the lead in executing a technically and politically coherent and determined strategy." See Federiga Bindi, Italy and the European Union (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011), p.171.
"Italy plays a prominent role in European and global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power." See Italy: Justice System and National Police Handbook, Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: International Business Publications, 2009), p.9.
