Positioning the third wave of middle power diplomacy: Institutional elevation, practice limitations

Abstract

This article argues that middle power diplomacy can be identified as having gone through three distinct waves. The first is connected with the immediate post-1945 global order, with a focus on multilateralism via the United Nations and related bodies. The second moved to ad hoc bursts of activism related to specific issue area niches. The third and current wave, by contrast, is embedded in the informal institutionalization associated with the G20. Just as the BRICS have used the G20 as a catalyst for differentiated activities both around and independent of the G20, the “missing middle” in the G20 (countries increasingly portrayed as middle powers beyond both the BRICS and the G7) have begun to explore the possibility of collective action. MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea, and Australia), while possibly a significant advance in global governance, has the potential of hardening the categories of countries identified as middle powers. At the same time, the MIKTA countries face a number of serious constraints in terms of this global reach. Institutional elevation is compromised by practice limitations, most notably the hold of regional imperatives.

The resilience of the US–Turkey alliance: divergent threat perceptions and worldviews

“…Being among the NATO's ten most powerful militaries and the OECD's 15 biggest economies, Turkey is considered an emerging rising power (Öniş & Kutlay, 2017). Similar to other rising powers, Turkey supports regional indigenous organisations (Cooper & Parlar Dal, 2016). For instance, it initiated and supported numerous 'homegrown' dialogue and integration processes in the Balkans, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East (Parlar .…”

Towards an autonomous European defense? A comparative analysis of French, Polish and German perspectives in the post-Brexit era

“…One of the main concerns of spoilers is the overrepresentation of the US/West in the current world order (Newman & Zala, 2018). Hence, by holding central places in the established organizations (such as a permanent membership in the UN Security Council), spoilers increase their agenda-setting power, promote their preferences and contain or balance the US/Western predominance from within (Cooper & Parlar Dal, 2016;Stephen, 2012). Hence, by remaining within the US-led organization, they increase their ability to put a brake on the US-and Western-led expansionist and ambitious initiatives.…”

The Analysis of the Policies of Indonesia at ASEAN and the UN in 2000s in the Context of Regional-Global Relationship

“…Buna ek olarak, uluslararası politikada çok taraflılık yanlısı ittifaklar içerisinde olmaları, BM gibi platformlarda düzenin reformundan yana artan girişimleri gibi davranışsal faktörler ile ön plana çıkmışlardır. (Cooper & Dal, 2016) Bu anlamda 2013 yılında ortaya çıkan MIKTA 2 gibi platformlar yükselen orta ölçekli güçlerin enformel iş birliği olarak dikkatleri üzerine çekmiştir. (Gok & Karadeniz, 2018) Bölgesel güçler konusunda çalışmalarıyla ön plana çıkan Defly Nolte'a göre bölgesel güçler ile orta ölçekli güçler arasındaki temel farklılıklardan birisi "liderlik"tir.…”