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This article considers the rising importance regional power development in a world where the stability of political alliances is increasingly brought into question. Most world leaders agree that these emerging economies will come to play an ever-more powerful role in the shaping of tomorrow's global policies, even if they do not themselves occupy the leading socio-political slots. Several possible policy configurations for China, India, Brazil, & South Africa are considered here, focusing on the degree to which these countries will both collectively & independently choose to balance their engagement between their local sphere of influence & their strategic global allies, namely the US & EU. It is suggested that the direction China elects to take in its policy over the coming years will have a decisive role for the other developing regions as a whole, because its economic power will largely temper the attitudes of the dominant world powers towards these regional powers. Tables, References. C. Brunski

The article discusses China's policies in and towards the Arctic and Africa within a comparative perspective. To what extent is China's policy adaptable to different conditions? What does this adaptability tell us about China's ascendant great-power role in the world in general? What is the message to the Arctic and Africa respectively? The article concludes that China's regional strategies aptly reflect the overall grand strategy of a country that is slowly but surely aiming at taking on the role of leading global superpower. In doing so, Chinese foreign policy has demonstrated flexibility and adaptive tactics, through a careful tailoring of its so-called core interests and foreign policy principles, and even identity politics, to regional conditions. This implies that regions seeking autonomy in the context of great power activism and contestation should develop their own strategies not only for benefiting from Chinese investment but also in terms of managing dependency on China and in relation to China and great power competition.

West Africa is one of the most instable regions in the world with ongoing conflicts and civil wars. At the same time the region's importance is growing globally due to its rich resources and strategically important location. Many states, including Norway, are currently rethinking their strategies in the region and how to deal with the problematic situations in the Mano River and Niger Delta areas. L. Pitkaniemi

West Africa has been an unstable region until the early 21st century, when the conflict levels reduced and democratic elections were held. The region is very resource rich and delivers up to 1/4 of United State's oil imports, making the region a good investment for Norwegian oil producing companies. Based on prior experience, Norway has built up a West African strategy that focuses on stability and development. L. Pitkaniemi

An overall discussion on the history and definition of piracy, how it affects world trade, what actions have been taken against it and how its existence is explained. According to the statistics of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has kept statistics since 1990, six ships out of 1000 have been attacked by pirates primarily in Southeast Asia and Costal Africa. On average 350 attacks are conducted, costing 16 billion dollars and several lives each year. Since the September 11 attacks, the interest of research around piracy has increased. These studies have linked piracy with failed states and a depressed fishing industry. L. Pitkaniemi

'I have so much respect for the women of Africa'. The quotation is taken from a report in the Danish magazine Too dameme in 2011 here follows is the Danish singer Maria Montell, who are visiting the village Kanziko in Kenya, where a Danish water project just so set. The reader is invited to Montell fashion with Kenyans whose life terms shall put her own life back home in Denmark in perspective. The Africans touches Montell deeply and reinforces her that would help (Say 2011: 45). Adapted from the source document.