ISSN 2464-9929, Global Politics Review 6, no. 1-2 (2020): 57-65. Russia as a Great Power? A Case Study of Southeast Asia Joshua Espeña & Don McLain Gill* Abstract: The great power concept has been widely used in the study of International Relations. However, its usage has often occurred in foreign policy analyses of a more rhetorical than empirical nature. Several scholars have tried to contribute to defning what a great power is. For the purpose of this study, Andrew Heywood’s great power framework provides a critical understanding of the concept of great powers and touches on the contributions made by other scholars as well. Russia has been usually labeled as a great power based on a common nostalgia of the former Soviet Union and the charisma seen from President Putin; however, before attributing the status of great power to Russia, it is important to look into empirical data, not merely rhetoric. Considering that a great power is global in reach, this paper employs Southeast Asia as a case study in analyzing Russia’s infuence in the sub-region. This study claims that despite common perceptions, Russia has not yet achieved great power status based on the empirical data provided against the backdrop of Heywood’s conceptual framework. Keywords: Great power, Russia, Southeast Asia, Andrew Heywood, international relations, Asia-Pacifc. Received: February 29, 2020. Accepted: May 6, 2020. Published: June 8, 2020. Defning a Great Power I nternational Relations has long been concerned with defning the concept of great power. Several scholars have contributed towards providing a detailed understanding or measurement of what a great power is and should be. In this study, we have utilized the great power framework introduced by Andrew Heywood in his 2011 book titled Global Politics. We believe that Heywood’s explanation encompasses the eforts put in by other scholars in defning the scope of a Great Power. Accordingly, Heywood defnes a great power as a “state deemed to rank amongst the most powerful in a hierarchical- state-system.” 1 Furthermore, Heywood provides certain criteria for a state to qualify as a great power: (1) it must be in the frst rank of military prowess, having the capacity to maintain its own security and, potentially, to infuence other powers, (2) it must be an economically powerful state, (3) it must have a global, and not merely regional spheres of interests, and (4) it must adopt a “forward” foreign policy and have an actual, and not merely a potential, impact on international afairs. 2 1 Andrew Heywood, Global Politics (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 7. 2 Ibid., 7 * Joshua Espeña, University of the Philippines Diliman. E-mail: joshua000espena@gmail.com. Don McLain Gill, University of the Philippines Diliman. E-mail: gill_donmclain@yahoo.com. © 2020 by the Authors. This is an Open Access article licensed by Global Politics Review under the terms & conditions of the Creative Commons BY-NC4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3871405 GPR ID: 2464-9929_v06_i1-2_p057