Editors' introduction
| Author | Jack Cunningham,Brian Bow |
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0020702018810588 |
| Subject Matter | Editors' introduction |
Editors’ introduction
Canada has long been central to debates surrounding the concept of ‘‘middle
powers,’’ and many of the most influential works on this topic have been featured
in International Journal. But there are a number of serious questions about the
coherence and salience of the concept in the post-Cold War world. This issue
features a collection of essays, brought together by John Ravenhill, which develop
and apply an alternative concept—‘‘entrepreneurial states’’—that could bring new
insight to these old debates.
The entrepreneurial states project began with a workshop on ‘‘The Role of
Middle Powers in the 21st Century Global Arena,’’ convened at the Munk
School at the University of Toronto. Ravenhill and the other contributors here
gratefully acknowledge the workshop’s organizers, Ronald W. Preussen and Janice
Stein, for their initiative, and the Munk School for its financial support of the
workshop.
This collection begins with a general discussion of some of the limitations of the
‘‘middle powers’’ concept, and a general introduction to ‘‘entrepreneurial states’’ as
an alternative, by John Ravenhill. He questions the usual starting place—identify-
ing relevant states by thinking about their ‘‘size,’’ and assuming that they will
always be enthusiastic supporters of the existing multilateral order—and makes
the case instead for focusing on how states behave, looking for a cluster of specific
strategies of influence he identifies as ‘‘entrepreneurial.’’
The other papers in this project, which built on and tested some of the argu-
ments in the concept paper, were first presented at a special panel at a convention
of the International Studies Association (ISA). They include case studies of Brazil
(Feliciano de Sa
´Guimara
˜es and Maria Hermı
´nia Tavares de Almeida), Canada
(John Kirton), and Mexico (Ana Covarrubias Velasco and Jorge A. Schiavon).
Further refinement of the papers occurred in response to discussion at the conven-
tion, and a new case study was later added: entrepreneurial behaviour by two small
Gulf states, Qatar and the UAE (Crystal Ennis). Finally, the panel’s discussant at
the ISA, Andrew F. Cooper, agreed to convert his remarks into a concluding paper
for the collection in which he explores the merits and limitations of the entrepre-
neurial states approach.
This issue also features a Lessons of History essay by Jill Campbell-Miller, on
the role played by World War Two in shaping Canada’s humanitarian aid policy.
International Journal
2018, Vol. 73(4) 499–500
!The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702018810588
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