First category: allies

As David Lake has shown, these actors are the closest satellites to the hegemonic power and are characterized by the following features:

Figure 4.1 Structure of international peace and security: the American scenario axes of conflict.

• A) They have their own domains of influence and the hegemonic power avoids violating and interfering in their specific fields, which include their vital interests.
• B) They have critical interests in other areas where they should also play an effective role.¹¹

Their operational logic is to protect their critical interests in their specific regions and cooperate and bargain with the hegemonic power to secure their vital interests elsewhere. The European Union, Russia and China are major actors in this regard.¹²

Second category: collaborators

The second orbit includes a number of actors in good strategic positions, yet for many reasons they avoid being pitched against the hegemonic power. According to David Lampton and Richard Ewing, they seek to achieve their goals through ‘beneficial cooperation’ with the hegemonic power.¹³