1. Introduction / Donette Murray -- 2. The United States : the eagle untamed / Robert Singh -- 3. The Chinese dragon / Donette Murray -- 4. The Russian bear / Dmitry Polikanov -- 5. The European Union : a different kind of beast / John McCormick -- 6. The Indian elephant / Manjeet S. Pardesi and Sumit Ganguly -- 7. Conclusion : the contemporary distribution of power / David Brown