Our lone ally in a highly unstable region...
a member of the nuclear club...
a nation that has survived repeated multilateral military surprise attacks...
a nation that is the subject of 30% of all UN resolutions...
a top-notch intelligence agency (possibly the best in the world)...
MAN, you're a tough grader! Just what does it take to be a "major player" in your book?
In thinking about who the leading players really are, nuclear weapons are not totally the issue. Otherwise, Pakistan would be on the Security Council.
Really, I think a major nation is a democratic republic, has control of the military under civilian leadership, and is capable of self-sustained economic growth.
I feel that military strength is only an indicator of relative economic productivity. Comparing the size of armies, navies, and air forces is instructive. In this thread, a poster suggested that the IDF was the third strongest force on Earth. I disagreed because in various categories you could locate many stronger forces.
This view suggests that foreign policy should be focused on priorities related to "major" nations first. The G-8 are major nations because they have economic leverage that Israel does not.
The only major nation that is not in the G-8 is China. If China were a democratic republic and control of the PLA under elected civilians, then the picture would be complete.