Paper title:
  Rising Middle Powers: Comparative Analysis of MIKTA Countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4316/CC.2020.01.006
Published in:
Issue 2 (Vol. 26) / 2020
Publishing date:
2020-12-31
Pages:
 405-430
Author(s):
 Hülya Kinik
Abstract:
 With the beginning of the 21st Century, the structure of the liberal economic order and its institutions have undergone a great transformation. Since the global financial crisis in 2008, some Asian and Latin American countries draw attention with their rapidly growing economic performances raising big debates over "the West and the rest" discourse. On the other hand, the matter and the uncertainty of the conceptualisation and identification of these new rising powers have been generally ignored. In order to identify rising middle powers, not only their material capacities but also the roles they assign for themselves in international politics (identity definitions) and global policy behaviours are significant determinants. These countries have an important status in the international arena by combining their "positional" (material powers) and "behavioral" (ideological power, policies they pursue) powers. MIKTA members can play a more active role in foreign policy thanks to their material (military, economic, GDP, geographical location, diplomatic capacity…) and ideational (soft power, effectiveness) power capacities. However, after seven years of its establishment, the effectiveness, credibility, and legitimacy of the group have come under question by some analysts. In this backdrop, this paper attempts to compare the potentials of MIKTA countries with material and behavioural patterns that are related to middle power concepts and seeks to find trends in growth or decline in these five countries and to assess MIKTA's prospects on its sustainability.
Keywords:
 Rising Middle Powers, G20, MIKTA, economic performance, hard power, soft power.




References:
 1. AK Party, Political Vision of AK Party 2023: Politics, Society, and the World, in https://www.akparti.org.tr/parti/2023-siyasi-vizyon/
2. Bishop Julie, Address to MIKTA outreach event, 2015, in www.foreignminister.gov.au/ minister/julie-bishop/speech/address-mikta-outreach-event
3. Çolakoğlu Selçuk, Is MIKTA sustainable as a middle power grouping in global gover-nance?, Diplo, (2017), in https://www.diplomacy.edu/blog/mikta-sustainable-middle-power-grouping-global-governance
4. Çolakoğlu Selçuk, MIKTA’s Role in the G20 (2016), in www.asianpacificcenter.org/ mikta-s-role-in-the-g20.html
5. Colakoglu Selcuk, The Role of MIKTA in Global Governance: Assessments & Short-comings, "Korea Observer", 2016, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 267-290.
6. Çolakoğlu, Selçuk, Has MIKTA augmented the global governance role of middle pow-ers?, "The Global", 2018, in https://theglobal.blog/2018/05/29/has-mikta-augmented-the-global-governance-role-of-middle-powers
7. Cooper Andrew Fenton, Dal Emel Parlar, Positioning The Third Wave Of Middle Power Diplomacy: Institutional Elevation, Practice Limitations, "International Journal", 2016, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 516-528.
8. Cooper Andrew Fenton, MIKTA and the global projection of middle powers: Toward a summit of their own?, "Global Summitry", 1, 2015, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 95-114.
9. Dal Emel Parlar, Kurşun Ali Murat, Assessing Turkey's middle power foreign policy in MIKTA: Goals, means, and impact, "International Journal", 2016, Vol. 71, No.4, pp. 608-629.
10. Dal Emel Parlar, On Turkey's Trail as a "Rising Middle Power" in the Network of Global Governance: Preferences, Capabilities, and Strategies, "Perceptions", 2014, Vol. XIX, No. 4, pp. 107-136.
11. Engin Belma, Baba Gürol, MIKTA: A Functioning Product of "New" Middle Pow-erism?, "Review of International Law & Politics", 2015, Vol. 11, No. 42, pp. 1-40.
12. Evans Gareth, Middle Power Diplomacy, Lecture in Chile Pacific Foundation, Santiago, 2011, in http://www.gevans.org/speeches/speech441.html
13. Fahamu Networks for Social Justice, MIKTA: A global vision of middle powers, in http://www.fahamu.org/ep_articles/mikta-a-global-vision-of-middle-powers/
14. Flake Gordon, Wang Xu, MIKTA: The Search for a Strategic Rationale (2017), in https://perthusasia.edu.au/getattachment/Our-Work/MIKTA-The-Search-For-A-Strate gic-Rationale/MIKTA-report-June-2017.pdf
15. Gök Gonca Oğuz, Karadeniz Radiye Funda, Emerging Middle Powers in Global Political Economy: Preferences, Capabilities and their Limitations, in Dal Emel Parlar (eds), Turkey's Political Economy in the 21st Century. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, p. 163-194.
16. Ikenberry Gilford John, The end of liberal international order?, "International Affairs", 2018, Vol. 94, No. 1, pp. 7–23.
17. IMF, World World Economic Outlook Database, in https://www.imf.org/en/ Publications/WEO/weo-database/2020/October/weo-report?c=193,536,542,273,186,&s= GGXWDN_NGDP,&sy=2009&ey=2019&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort= country&ds=.&br=1
18. Jadhav Pravin, Determinants of foreign direct investment in BRICS economies: Analysis of economic, institutional, and political factor, "Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences", 2017, Vol. 37, pp. 5-14.
19. Jongryn Mo, Introduction: G20 Middle Powers (MIKTA) and Global Governance, pp. 1-13, in Mo Jongryn (Ed.), MIKTA, Middle Powers, and New Dynamics of Global Governance The G20's Evolving Agenda, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
20. Karadeniz Radiye Funda, 'The Middle Power Moment' Revisited in Global Gov-ernance: A Chance for MIKTA's Legitimacy Crisis in Post-Pandemic World?, "Marmara University Journal of Political Science", Vol.8, 2020, Special Issues, pp. 22-39.
21. Karagöl Erdal Tanas, Kıtalar Arası Ekonomik İşbirliği: MIKTA, “Seta Perspektif”, No. 62, 2014, pp. 1-5.
22. Klingebiel Stephan, MIKTA: What's in a name? The potential of middle power coop-eration to strengthen global governance (2020), in www.undp.org/content/ seoul_policy_center/en/home/presscenter/articles/2020/mikta--what_s-in-a-name--the-potential-of-middle-power-cooperati.html
23. Lee Sook-Jong, Chun Chaesung, Suh HyeeJung, Thomsen Patrick, Middle Power in Action: The Evolving Nature of Diplomacy in the Age of Multilateralism, 2015, EAI Middle Power Diplomacy Initiative (MPDI), East Asia Institute, pp. 1-29, in https://www.files.ethz.ch/ isn/191150/3 0.04.2015.pdf.
24. Lee Jong-Wha, The Republic of Korea's Economic Growth and Catch-Up: Implications for the People's Republic of China. ADBI Working Paper, 2016, No. 571, in https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/183353/adbi-wp571.pdf
25. MIKTA Foreign Ministers, MIKTA Vision Statement, in www.mikta.org/about/ vision.php
26. MIKTA, New Innovation Partnership, in http://www.mikta.org/web/viewer.html?file=/images/2020%20MIKTA%20Booklet.pdf
27. Missiroli Antonio, O'Sullivan Domhnall, BRICS - the next layer, "Issue Alert", European Union Institute for Security Studies, 2013, No. 38, in https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Alert_38_Next_BRICS.pdf
28. Nordea Trade Portal, South Korea: Economic and Political Overview (2020), in https://www.nordeatrade.com/fi/explore-new-market/south-korea/economicalcontex
29. Öniş Ziya, Kutlay Mustafa, Demokratik BRICS Ülkeler: Küresel Yönetişimin Yeni Aktörleri, 2013, in https://www.academia.edu/19557328/Ziya_%C3%96ni%C5%9F_ve_ Mustafa_Kutlay_Demokratik_BICS_%C3%9Clkeler_K%C3%BCresel_Y%C3%B6neti%C5%9 Fimin_Yeni_Akt%C3%B6rleri
30. Öniş Ziya, Kutlay Mustafa, The dynamics of emerging middle-power influence in regional and global governance: the paradoxical case of Turkey, "Australian Journal of International Affairs", 2017, Vol. 71, No.2, pp. 164-183.
31. Pakpahan Beginda, Can Indonesia Help MIKTA Thrive? (2018), in https://the diplomat.com/2018/04/can-indonesia-help-mikta-thrive/
32. Patrick Stewart M., Feng Asley, MIKTA in the Middle: A Little-Known Multilateral Group Turns Five (2018), in https://www.cfr.org/blog/mikta-middle-little-known-multilateral-group-turns-five
33. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MIKTA Foreign Ministers' Joint Statement on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Global Health, 9 April 2020, in http://www.mfa.gov.tr/covid-19-a-iliskin-mikta-bildirisi-hk.en.mfa
34. Robertson Jeffrey, South Korea's quandary: What to do about MIKTA?, "The Interpreter", 2018, in https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/south-korea-quandary-what-do-about-mikta
35. Robertson Jeffrey, Where next for MIKTA?, "The Interpreter", 2020, in https:// www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/where-next-mikta
36. Rozman Gilbert, The Sino-U.S. National Identity Gap, Australia, and the Formation of an Asia-Pacific Community, "Asian Survey", 2014, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 343-366.
37. Siow Maria, Mikta who? Covid-19 injects five 'middle power' countries with new sense of purpose (2020), in https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3104456/ mikta-who-covid-19-injects-five-middle-power-countries-new-sense
38. Thakur Ramesh, How Representative are BRICS?, "Third World Quarterly", 2014, Vol. 35, No. 10, pp. 1791-1808.
39. The World Bank, World Development Indicators, in https://databank.worldbank. org/source/world-development-indicators
40. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2020, The next frontier Human development and the Anthropocene, in http://hdr.undp.org/ sites/default/files/hdr2020.pdf
41. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2010, The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development, in http://hdr.undp.org /sites/default/files/reports/270/hdr_2010_en_complete_reprint.pdf
42. WTO, World Commodity Profiles (2019), in https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/ statis_e/trade_profiles_list_e.htm