Middle Power

In international relations, a middle power is a sovereign state that is not a great power nor a superpower, but still has large or moderate influence and international recognition.

The concept of the "middle power" dates back to the origins of the European state system. In the late 16th century, Italian political thinker Giovanni Botero divided the world into three types of states: ''grandissime'' (empires), ''mezano'' (middle powers), and ''piccioli'' (small powers). According to Botero, a ''mezano'' or middle power "has sufficient strength and authority to stand on its own without the need of help from others."Rudd K (2006
Making Australia a force for good
''Labor eHerald''
Countries

History and definition

No agreed standard method defines which states are middle powers, aside from the broad idea that middle powers are states that have a 'moderate' ability to influence the behaviour of other states, in contrast to small power, which have 'little' ability to influence. Some researchers use Gross National Product (GNP) statistics to draw lists of middle powers around the world. Economically, middle powers are generally those that are not considered too "big" or too "small", however that is defined. However, economy is not always the defining factor. Under the original sense of the term, a middle power was one that had some degree of influence globally, but did not dominate in any one area. However, this usage is not universal, and some define middle power to include nations that can be regarded as regional powers.

According to academics at the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham:

Middle power status is usually identified in one of two ways. The traditional and most common way is to aggregate critical physical and material criteria to rank states according to their relative capabilities. Because countries' capabilities differ, they are categorized as superpowers (or great powers), middle powers or small powers. More recently, it is possible to discern a second method for identifying middle power status by focusing on behavioural attributes. This posits that middle powers can be distinguished from superpowers and smaller powers because of their foreign policy behaviour – middle powers carve out a niche for themselves by pursuing a narrow range and particular types of foreign policy interest. In this way middle powers are countries that use their relative diplomatic skills in the service of international peace and stability.

According to Eduard Jordaan of Singapore Management University:

All middle powers display foreign policy behaviour that stabilises and legitimises the global order, typically through multilateral and cooperative initiatives. However, emerging and traditional middle powers can be distinguished in terms of their mutually-influencing constitutive and behavioural differences. Constitutively, traditional middle powers are wealthy, stable, egalitarian, social democratic and not regionally influential. Behaviourally, they exhibit a weak and ambivalent regional orientation, constructing identities distinct from powerful states in their regions and offer appeasing concessions to pressures for global reform. Emerging middle powers by contrast are semi-peripheral, materially inegalitarian and recently democratised states that demonstrate much regional influence and self-association. Behaviourally, they opt for reformist and not radical global change, exhibit a strong regional orientation favouring regional integration but seek also to construct identities distinct from those of the weak states in their region.

Another definition, by the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI), a program of the Global Security Institute, is that "middle power countries are politically and economically significant, internationally respected countries that have renounced the nuclear arms race, a standing that give them significant international credibility."Middle Powers Initiative (2004
Building Bridges: What Middle Power Countries Should Do To Strengthen the NPT
, ''GSI'' Under this definition however, nuclear-armed states like India and Pakistan, and every state participant of the NATO nuclear sharing, would not be middle powers.

Middle power diplomacy

According to Laura Neak of the International Studies Association:

Although there is some conceptual ambiguity surrounding the term middle power, middle powers are identified most often by their international behavior–called 'middle power diplomacy'—the tendency to pursue multilateral solutions to international problems, the tendency to embrace compromise positions in international disputes, and the tendency to embrace notions of 'good international citizenship' to guide...diplomacy. Middle powers are states who commit their relative affluence, managerial skills, and international prestige to the preservation of the international order and peace. Middle powers help to maintain the international order through coalition-building, by serving as mediators and "go-betweens," and through international conflict management and resolution activities, such as UN peacekeeping. Middle powers perform these internationalist activities because of an idealistic imperative they associate with being a middle power. The imperative is that the middle powers have a moral responsibility and collective ability to protect the international order from those who would threaten it, including, at times, the great or principal powers. This imperative was particularly profound during the most intense periods of the Cold War.Bishai LS (2000
From Recognition to Intervention: The Shift from Traditional to Liberal International Law

According to international relations scholar Annette Baker Fox, relationships between middle powers and great powers reveal more intricate behaviors and bargaining schemes than has often been assumed.
According to Soeya Yoshihide, "Middle Power does not just mean a state's size or military or economic power. Rather, 'middle power diplomacy' is defined by the issue area where a state invests its resources and knowledge. Middle Power States avoid a direct confrontation with great powers, but they see themselves as 'moral actors' and seek their own role in particular issue areas, such as human rights, environment, and arms regulations. Middle powers are the driving force in the process of transnational institutional-building."

Characteristics of middle power diplomacy include:

*Commitment to multilateralism through global institutions and allying with other middle powers.
*High degree of civil society, Human Security, the International Criminal Court, and the Kyoto Protocol

The Middle Powers Initiative highlights the importance of middle powers diplomacy. Through MPI, eight international non-governmental organizations are able to work primarily with middle power governments to encourage and educate the nuclear weapons states to take immediate practical steps that reduce nuclear dangers, and commence negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons. Middle power countries are particularly influential in issues related to arms control, being that they are politically and economically significant, internationally respected countries that have renounced the nuclear arms race, a standing that gives them significant political credibility.

Self-defined by nation states

The term first entered Canadian political discourse after World War II. Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, for example, called Canada "a power of the middle rank" and helped to lay out the classical definition of Canadian middle power diplomacy. When he was advocating for Canada's election to the United Nations Security Council, he said that while "...the special nature of anada'srelationship to the United Kingdom and the United States complicates our responsibilities," Canada was not a "satellite" of either but would "continue to make our decisions objectively, in the light of our obligations to our own people and their interest in the welfare of the international community." Canadian leaders believed Canada was a middle power because it was a junior partner in larger alliances (e.g. NATO, NORAD), was actively involved in resolving disputes outside its own region (e.g. Suez Crisis), was not a former colonial power and therefore neutral in anti-colonial struggles, worked actively in the United Nations to represent the interests of smaller nations and to prevent the dominance of the superpowers (often being elected to the United Nations Security Council for such reasons), and because it was involved in humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts around the world.

In March 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defined his country's foreign policy as one of "middle power diplomacy", along the lines of similar criteria. Australia would "influence international decision-makers" on issues such as "global economic, security and environmental challenges".Shanahan D (2008
Time to go global, urges Rudd
, ''The Australian''

Overlaps between great powers and middle powers

The overlaps between the lists of middle powers and great powers show that there is no unanimous agreement among authorities.

Nations such as China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are generally considered to be great powers due to their economic, military or strategic importance, their status as recognised nuclear powers and their permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Some academics also believe that Germany and Japan are great powers, but due to their large advanced economies and global influence as opposed to military and strategic capabilities, yet sources have at times referred to these nations as middle powers.P. Shearman, M. Sussex,
European Security After 9/11
'(Ashgate, 2004) - According to Shearman and Sussex, both the UK and France were great powers now reduced to middle power status.

People in the field of international relations, such as Professor Kirton and Roberto Gimeno, support the claim that Italy is a great power due to its status and membership in the G7 and NATO Quint. Moreover, according to a 2014 report by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), Italy is listed among the great powers. Although broad academic support for India as a great power is uncommon, some in the field of political science, such as Malik Mohan and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, consider India to be a great power too.
Strategic Vision: America & the Crisis of Global Power
' by Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, pp 43–45. Published 2012. In addition to it, Brazil is sometimes referred as a great power due to its economic power and influence.Heine J (2006
On the Manner of Practising the New Diplomacy
''ISN'' Brazil, India and Italy are also described at times as middle powers.

The following is a list of 8 countries that have been, at some point in time since the post–Cold War era, often considered great powers, but sometimes also listed as middle powers by academics or other experts. The United States and China, considered by many scholars to exceed the traditional criterion of great power or instead to be a superpower, are not listed:

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* Otte M, Greve J (2000
A Rising Middle Power?: German Foreign Policy in Transformation, 1989-1999
''St. Martin's Press''
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List of middle powers

As with the great powers, there is no unanimous agreement among authorities as to which countries are considered middle powers. Lists are often the subject of much debate and tend to place comparatively large countries (e.g. Argentina) alongside relatively small ones (e.g. Norway).Solomon S (1997
South African Foreign Policy and Middle Power Leadership
, ''ISS'' Clearly not all middle powers are of equal status; some are considered regional powers and members of the G20 (e.g. Australia), while others could very easily be considered small powers (e.g. Czech Republic). Some larger middle powers also play important roles in the United Nations and other international organisations such as the WTO.

The following is a list of 52 countries that have been, at some point in time since the post–Cold War era, considered middle powers by academics or other experts (Members of the G-20 major economies are in bold font, except for the EU member states which are attended under a collective membership of the EU):

*Africa (7 countries)
** Wurst J (2006
Middle Powers Initiative Briefing Paper
''GSI'' Cooper AF (1997
Niche Diplomacy - Middle Powers after the Cold War
, ''palgrave''Bernard Wood, 'Towards North-South Middle Power Coalitions', in ''Middle Power Internationalism: The North-South Dimension'', edited by Cranford Pratt (Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1990).
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** Andrew F. Cooper, Agata Antkiewicz and Timothy M. Shaw, 'Lessons from/for BRICSAM about South-North Relations at the Start of the 21st Century: Economic Size Trumps All Else?', ''International Studies Review'', Vol. 9, No. 4 (Winter, 2007), pp. 675, 687.Ploughshares Monitor (1997


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*Americas (6 countries)
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**Behringer RM (2005
Middle Power Leadership on the Human Security Agenda
, ''SAGE''Crosby AD (1997
A Middle-Power Military in Alliance: Canada and NORAD
''JSTOR''Petersen K (2003

''Dissident Voice''
** Heine J (2006
On the Manner of Practising the New Diplomacy
''ISN''
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** Louis Belanger and Gordon Mace, 'Middle Powers and Regionalism in the Americas: The Cases of Argentina and Mexico', in ''Niche Diplomacy: Middle Powers After the Cold War'', edited by Andrew F. Cooper (London: Macmillan, 1997).Pierre G. Goad, 'Middle Powers to the Rescue?', ''Far Eastern Economic Review'', Vol. 163, No. 24 (2000), p. 69.Pellicer O (2006)
Mexico – a Reluctant Middle Power?
, ''FES''
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*Asia (20 countries)
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** Jonathan H. Ping, ''Middle Power Statecraft: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Asia Pacific'' (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2005).
** Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Raymond Hinnesbusch, ''Syria and Iran: Middle Power in a Penetrated Regional System'' (London: Routledge, 1997).Ahouie M (2004

, ''MIT''Foreign Affairs Committee (2006

/ref>
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** Mace G, Belanger L (1999
The Americas in Transition: The Contours of Regionalism
(p 153)
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** Jonathan H. Pin
Middle Power Statecraft
(p 104)
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** Andrew F. Cooper, Agata Antkiewicz and Timothy M. Shaw, 'Lessons from/for BRICSAM about South-North Relations at the Start of the 21st Century: Economic Size Trumps All Else?', ''International Studies Review'', Vol. 9, No. 4 (Winter, 2007), pp. 675, 687.
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*Europe (17 countries)
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** Inoguchi K (2002

Caplan G (2006
From Rwanda to Darfur: Lessons learned?
''SudanTribune''
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** Pratt C (1990
Middle Power Internationalism
''MQUP''
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** Thanos Veremēs (1997

"Black Rose Books"
** Higgott RA, Cooper AF (1990
Middle Power Leadership and Coalition Building
/ref>
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** Kirton J (2006
Harper's Foreign Policy Success?
/ref>
** according to Yves Lacoste, ''Géopolitique'', Larousse, 2009,p. 134, both Spain and Portugal exert a real influence in Africa and in the Americas.
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** Rudengren J, Gisle P, Brann K (1995
Middle Power Clout: Sweden And The Development Banks

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*Oceania (2 countries)
** Tobias Harris, 'Japan Accepts its "Middle-Power" Fate'. ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' Vol. 171, No. 6 (2008), p. 45: 'Japan is settling into a position as a middle power in Asia, sitting uneasily between the U.S., its security ally, and China, its most important economic partner. In this it finds itself in a situation similar to Australia, India, South Korea and the members of Asean.'Yasmi Adriansyah, 'Questioning Indonesia's place in the world', ''Asia Times'' (20 September 2011): 'Countries often categorized as middle power (MP) include Australia, Canada and Japan. The reasons for this categorization are the nations' advanced political-economic stature as well as their significant contribution to international cooperation and development. India and Brazil have recently become considered middle powers because of their rise in the global arena—particularly with the emerging notion of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).'Hazleton WA (2005

, ''allacademic''
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See also

* JACKSNNZ
* MINT
* Power (international relations)
* Regional power
* Soft power
* Uniting for Consensus

References

Further reading

Shifting Power in Asia-Pacific? The Rise of China, Sino-US Competition and Regional Middle Power Allegiance
(by Enrico Fels ( Bonn University))

Weak States in the International System
(By Michael I. Handel)

Relocating Middle Powers: Australia and Canada in a Changing World Order
(Book info)

Middle Power Internationalism
(Book info)


(A Queen's Centre for International Relations annual report)

External links

Middle Powers Initiative

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middle Power
Military terminology
Hegemony
International relations theory
States by power status
Political science terminology
16th-century neologisms
Political terminology