Outline

A new project, "Comparative Research on Major Regional Powers in Eurasia," was adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science as a five-year grant-in-aid for scientific research on innovative areas. Its project leader is TABATA Shinichiro of the SRC. This project intends to make a comprehensive and systematic comparison of major regional powers in Eurasia, including Russia, China and India, and analyze the sustainability of these countries as regional powers. In comparative analysis, the historical background of these powers as empires will be fully taken into account. This will aim to identify pressing issues in contemporary Eurasia and beyond, such as security, ethnic conflicts, religious confrontations, environmental problems and poverty, by paying special attention to the role of these regional powers in the world order. This project includes six research groups:

1. Restructuring of the International Order (chief: IWASHITA Akihiro, SRC)
2. The Elite, Governance, Socio-political Cleavages and Values (chief: TANG Liang, Hosei University)
3. The Possibility of Sustainable Economic Development (chief: UEGAKI Akira, Seinan Gakuin University)
4. The Collapse and Restructuring of Empires and Transformation of the World System (chief: UYAMA Tomohiko, SRC)
5. Beyond the Contours of State (chief: YAMANE So, Osaka University)
6. The Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces of Culture (chief: MOCHIZUKI Tetsuo, SRC)

Russia, China and India and other powerful Eurasian countries, major subjects of this study, are challengers to the uni-polar order of the United States and an EU-dominated international order in the current global situation. In simple terms, these major regional powers have fixed economic and military power, and influence neighboring countries, and are characterized by their political independence, late growth and semi-peripheral status. These nations have commonalities such as placing a set distance on the norm, freedom, democracy and prevention of nuclear proliferation in international society based on the logic of strength.

The prediction that the 21^st century would be a uni-polar hegemony of the United States after the end of the Cold War has not been realized. Meanwhile, BRICs have grown with their economy, while the political clout and military presence of these nations has increased. However, the Bush Administration's unilateralism and interventionism have severely damaged the leadership of the United States in international politics. While the world rests under the power of the United States, regional powers are a Gulliver’s oligopoly with tremendous say. Will this structure be retained? Or, will the drop in high oil prices and the next U.S. administration working harder to create international agreement bring the world closer to a uni-polar world again?

To answer this question, it is important to understand that the regional power of Russia, China, India and others is not merely a political economic phenomenon. Culturally, the existence of these nations is exemplified by the position of their respective civilizations in the modern age rather than their late growth, and from this their adaptability from past cultural imperialism to the modern age can be understood. More specifically, regional powers have multifaceted phenomena related to culture, religion, ideology, imperial traditions, spatial representation and environmental problems, requiring tremendous focus on the humanities and social sciences. Another phenomenon of the regional powers above is the inability to measure them using a post Cold War time span, it requires fundamental research back to at least the 17th century and current analysis based on this.

Regional powers also face similar issues and problems such as the heritage of empire, relations with the United States, obtaining stable supplies of energy, soft power, formation of regional international organizations and environmental damage demonstrating commonality and contrast in dealing with them, thus a comparison of regional powers may be beneficial. A comparison is not only beneficial in terms of understanding the above countries, but also it is expected to impart knowledge on developing rich humanities and social sciences based on their political importance and academic value.