地域大國或稱區域強權,指在國際關係中,一個在某個地理區域內擁有較大影響力的國家[1][2]。這些國家被認為是控制某個地區安全性的關鍵國家[3],所掌握的影響力與實力能夠讓它們成為一地區性霸主。
地域大國通常在某個地區具有影響力,但是通常情況下,它們的影響力還不足以影響整個世界。關於地域大國的定義目前還有一定的爭議,根據歐洲政治研究協會的定義,「地域大國是某個地理區域內在經濟上、軍事上處於主導地位,擁有控制該地區能力並在世界範圍內具有一定影響力的國家。它們運用自己的實力使自己成為,或強迫該地區其他國家承認自己是該地區的領導人。」[1]
德國全球和區域研究所(German Institute of Global and Area Studies)認為地域大國必須具有以下特點:
- 與該地區具有地緣性的聯繫;
- 符合一個地域大國的形象;
- 能夠在該地區實際思想上的影響力;
- 在人口、經濟、軍事、政治和意識形態上具有領先地位;
- 很高地融入該區域;
- 對地區性安全具有較高的掌控力;
- 能夠得到該地區其他國家,尤其是其他地域大國的接受和讚揚;
- 能夠很好地溝通地域和全球。[2]
一些國家既可以是大國,也可以是地域大國;同樣的,一些國家也可以既是中等強國,又是地域大國。
以下國家是目前已經被大多數國際關係學和政治學學者、分析師或專家所認可的地域大國。這些國家在一定程度上滿足上述地域大國的標準,但是對於究竟是不是地域大國,不同的學者有不同的意見,以下並非依排名排列。
存档副本. [2011-06-29]. (原始內容存檔於2020-04-07).
存档副本 (PDF). [2010-04-24]. (原始內容 (PDF)存檔於2009-01-09).
存档副本 (PDF). [2011-06-29]. (原始內容 (PDF)存檔於2011-07-16).
foreignaffairs.org (頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)| Ben W. Heineman, Jr., and Fritz Heimann speak of Italy as a major country or "player" along with Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom, in "The Long War Against Corruption".
M. De Leonardis, Il Mediterraneo nella politica estera italiana del secondo dopoguerra, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003, p. 17
"And in the Horn of Africa, there is Ethiopia as the regional power." See Godfrey Mwakikagile, Africa is in a Mess (Pretoria: New Africa Press, 2006), p. 31.
"Regional powers, typically Nigeria and South Africa, but also including Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Senegal, that are perceived as crucial to the maintenance of regional stability and therefore as "regional anchors" of counterterrorism effors." See U.S. Naval War College, American Foreign Policy: Regional Perspectives (Newport, USA: Ruger Workshop: 2009), p. 263.
"West Africa, with its strong French influence, is home to one of Africa's two regional giants, Nigeria, and the region has seen the scene of much political and ethnic unrest." See David Lynch, Trade and Globalization (Lanham, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010), p. 51.
"South Africa is not the sole regional power on the continent, though; Nigeria is the other widely acknowledge centre of power in Africa and likewise a sub-regional superpower in West Africa." See Deon Geldenhuys, "South Africa: The Idea-driven Foreign Policy of a Regional Power," in Regional Leadership in the Global System, edited by Daniel Flemes (Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2010), p. 151.
"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.
Mubarak's game. archive.is. 2012-05-29 [2019-10-04]. 原始內容存檔於2012-05-29.
Algeria: Current Issues By Carol Migdalovitz