Positioning the third wave of middle power diplomacy: Institutional elevation, practice limitations
| Author | Emel Parlar Dal,Andrew F. Cooper |
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702016686385 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essays |
International Journal
2016, Vol. 71(4) 516–528
!The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702016686385
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Scholarly Essay
Positioning the third
wave of middle power
diplomacy: Institutional
elevation, practice
limitations
Andrew F. Cooper
Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo, Canada
Emel Parlar Dal
Marmara University, Marmara, Turkey
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 institu-
tionalization 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.
Keywords
Middle powers, G20, informal institutions, MIKTA, regionalism
A special issue on middle powers has some echoes from past historical moments.
Locating—or relocating
1
—middle powers is indelibly connected with ruptures
Corresponding author:
Andrew Cooper, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W,
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
Email: acooper@uwaterloo.ca
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