About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Seton Hall J. Dipl. & Int'l Rel. 9 (2013)
The Dynamics of Middlepowermanship

handle is hein.journals/whith14 and id is 145 raw text is: The Dynamics of Middlepowermanship by Ronald M. Behringer The concept of 'middlepowermanship,' or middle power diplomacy, was first used by John W Holmes and Paul Painchaud in separate papers presented at a 1965 conference on global development.1 While middlepowermanship has been analyzed by scholars interested in the foreign policies of middle powers, the concept has unfortunately not received the attention or respect from the broader academic community that it deserves due to the predominance of the realist paradigm for analyzing international relations. Realists tend to focus their attention on the great military powers of our world. Other states are often dismissed as lesser followers of great power leadership.2 While middle powers have been relatively neglected in terms of scholarship, empirical evidence leaves no doubt that middle powers are significant actors in global politics. To illustrate this point, one only needs to recall Canada's contributions to the domain of peacekeeping or the Scandinavian states' generous donations in foreign aid and development assistance. Not only are middle powers relevant in international relations, they are also capable of exercising effective leadership to resolve fundamental issues in global affairs, contrary to the presumptions of the realists. As I revealed in my recent book The Human Security Agenda: How Middle Power Leadership Defied US Hegemony, middlepowermanship was instrumental for the successful achievement of certain 'human security' initiatives, where focus is placed on the security of human populations rather than nation-states. These initiatives include the formation of the Multinational Standby High Readiness Brigade for United Nations Operations (SHIRBRIG), the achievement of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the establishment of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle.3 This article illuminates some of the dynamics of middlepowermanship. Two central questions are posed: how do the middle powers assume leadership roles in international relations, and what mechanisms do they use to convince other states- even some that are perceived to be far more powerful-to follow their lead? I will answer these questions and illustrate the components of effective middle power Ronald M. Behringer is an international relations scholar from Montreal, Canada. He has held faculty positions at Concordia University, James Madison University, the University of Florida, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 9 Seton Ha//Journal of Diploma0 and International Relations

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most