The emerging shifts in power in favor of non-European states are increasing the future demand for knowledge about the increasingly complex international and intraregional relationships. The contributions in this volume reflect the current state of scientific discussion regarding regional power shifts and the role of regional leading powers in shaping the new world order. Various conceptual and theoretical issues are discussed from the perspective of different schools of thought: The introductory contribution develops an analytical concept for identifying and analyzing states that aspire to the status of a regional leading power. Another essay discusses the role of regions as well as the construction of regional orders in international relations. Finally, an analysis from the perspective of d.