Table Of ContentMajor Powers and the Quest for Status
in International Politics
Evolutionary Processes in World Politics
Edited by William R. Thompson, Indiana University
Published by Palgrave Macmillan:
The Historical Evolution of World-Systems
Edited by Christopher Chase-Dunn and E. N. Anderson (2005)
Puzzles of the Democratic Peace: Theory, Geopolitics and the Transformation of World
Politics
By Karen Rasler and William R. Thompson (2005)
The Making of a Digital World: The Evolution of Technological Change and How It Shaped
Our World
By Joachim K. Rennstich (2008)
Systemic Transitions: Past, Present, and Future
Edited by William R. Thompson (2009)
Theory and Methodology of World Development: The Writings of Andre Gunder Frank
Edited by Sing C. Chew and Pat Lauderdale (2010)
Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics: Global and Regional
Perspectives
Edited by Thomas J. Volgy, Renato Corbetta, Keith A. Grant, and Ryan G. Baird
(2011)
Major Powers and the Quest
for Status in International
Politics
Global and Regional Perspectives
Edited by
Thomas J. Volgy, Renato Corbetta,
Keith A. Grant, and Ryan G. Baird
MAJOR POWERS AND THE QUEST FOR STATUS IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Copyright © Thomas J. Volgy, Renato Corbetta, Keith A. Grant,
and Ryan G. Baird, 2011.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-11931-4
All rights reserved.
First published in 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-28925-7 ISBN 978-0-230-11931-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230119314
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Major powers and the quest for status in international politics / edited
by Thomas J. Volgy . . . [et al.].
p. cm.—(Evolutionary processes in world politics)
1. Great powers. 2. International relations. 3. World politics—21st
century. I. Volgy, Thomas J.
JZ1310.M35 2011
327.1—dc22 2010049112
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: June 2011
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C O N T E N T S
List of Tables and Figures vii
List of Contributors ix
Preface xi
Jack S. Levy
One Major Power Status in International Politics 1
Thomas J. Volgy, Renato Corbetta, Keith A. Grant,
and Ryan G. Baird
Two The United States as Global Leader, Global Power,
and Status-Consistent Power? 27
William R. Thompson
Three USSR/Russian Federation’s Major Power Status
Inconsistencies 55
Maria Raquel Freire
Four The Power and Politics of Recognition: Status in China’s
Foreign Relations 77
Yong Deng
Five French Power-S eeking and Overachievement 97
Bertrand Badie
Six Japan as an Underachiever: Major Power Status in
Climate Change Politics 115
Norichika Kanie
Seven Identifying Regional Powers and Their Status 133
Kirssa Cline, Patrick Rhamey, Alexis Henshaw, Alesia
Sedziaka, Aakriti Tandon, and Thomas J. Volgy
vi Contents
Eight Brazil: Major Power in the Making? 159
Monica Herz
Nine India: A Major Power in the Making 181
Rajesh Basrur
Ten S tatus and the Future of International Politics 203
Renato Corbetta, Thomas J. Volgy, Ryan G. Baird,
and Keith A. Grant
References 225
Index 237
T A B L E S A N D F I G U R E S
Tables
1.1 COW Major Powers, 1945 to the Present 5
1.2 Major Power Measures and Status Consistency, Five- Year
Intervals, 1951- 2005 14
1.3 Major Power Status, COW and MPS Compared,
1951–2005 21
5.1 Factors Affecting France’s Overachievement Strategy 112
6.1 Result of the Principal Component Analysis 123
7.1 Regional Membership, Regional Powers, and Potential
Regional Challengers 135
7.2 Criteria for Classifying Regional Powers and Regional
Challengers 142
7.3 Military and Economic Opportunity, Regional Powers,
and Challenger States, 1990– 2005 143
7.4 Willingness, Regional Powers, and Challenger States,
1990–2005 144
7.5 Regional and Global Status Attribution for Regional
Powers and Challengers, 1990–2005 147
7.6 Summary of Findings for Opportunity, Willingness,
and Status, 1990- 2005 149
7.7 Additional Regions, Regional Powers, Challengers,
Isolated States, and Border States 152
7.8 Language Families and Scripts Used to Calculate the
Linguistic Similarity Measure 154
9.1 South Asia’s Nonmilitary Power Indicators, 2000 and 2008 185
9.2 South Asia’s Military Balance, 2008 185
9.3 S outh Asian Neighbours, Trade with India as Percent of
Total Trade, 1997 186
9.4 Military Indicators, India and Major Powers Compared,
2009 193
viii Tables and Figures
9.5 Selected Economic Indicators Comparing India with Major
Powers, 2009 194
Figures
1.1 Gini index of the inequality of military expenditures in
the international system (1816–2001) 2
1.2 Average Gini coefficients of GDP of the international system
for five periods between 1821 and 2006 3
1.3 Conditions influencing community- based status attribution 8
1.4 Threshold Criteria for Inclusion in Major Power Status Club 16
1.5 US capabilities, foreign policy activity, and status measures
(1950–2007) 17
1.6 Indian capabilities, foreign policy activity, and status measures
(1950–2007) 18
1.7 USSR/Russian capabilities, foreign policy activity, and status
measures (1950–2007) 19
2.1 US relative economic and global reach capability 41
2.2 British economic and global reach capability 42
2.3 French economic and global reach capability 43
2.4 German economic and global reach capability 43
2.5 Shares of world GDP 44
2.6 Shares of global reach capabilities 45
2.7 US and USSR/Russian global reach capability shares 46
2.8 The three largest economies 47
2.9 Number one and number two economic and military gaps 48
3.1 Russian GDP (billions of current US$ for 1990–2008) 70
6.1 Six Options for Japan’s midterm target under the Aso cabinet 128
C O N T R I B U T O R S
Bertrand Badie is professor of political science and international rela-
tions at Sciences Po, Paris, where he is in charge of the PhD program in
international relations. He published about twenty books in International
Relations and Comparative Politics, including The Imported State, Stanford
University Press, 2000 and Le Diplomate et l’Intrus, Fayard, 2008. He is
one of the general editors of The International Encyclopedia in Political Science
(Sage).
Ryan G. Baird received his PhD in political science from the University
of Arizona, and is now at the Warfare Analysis Center. He has written
extensively on the primacy of a state’s governance infrastructure, and its
relationship with a state’s regime type and economic outcomes.
Rajesh Basrur is senior fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His recent pub-
lications include South Asia’s Cold War (Routledge, 2008) and Minimum
Deterrence and India’s Nuclear Security (Stanford University Press, 2006).
Kirssa Cline, Patrick Rhamey, Alexis Henshaw, Alesia Sedziaka,
and Aakriti Tandon are PhD candidates in political science at the School
of Government and Public Policy, University of Arizona. Kirssa’s current
focus is human rights violations in relation to civil conflict and authori-
tarian regimes. Patrick’s research interests include domestic-international
linkages, regionalism, globalization, conflict, and conflict mediation.
Alexis’ research interests include gender, conflict, and Latin American
politics. Alesia specializes in international and comparative politics, with
an emphasis on Central European states. Aakriti’s primary focus is on
international political economy.
Renato Corbetta is an assistant professor of political science in the
Department of Government at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
His research has been published in Foreign Policy Analysis, Political Research
Quarterly, and Conflict Management and Peace Science. His recent work
