Middle Powers in a Post-American Order

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges faced by middle powers in forming new coalitions in a transitioning global order post-U.S. leadership.

The U.S. created the post-World War II international order that it no longer wants to lead today. But what replaces it is still unknown. So, in the meantime, small and medium-sized countries, so-called "middle powers," are scrambling to form new partnerships to insulate themselves from the inevitable instability that will arise from this transition. We're seeing this play out daily now as leaders from South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, Japan, and dozens of other countries crisscross the globe at a frenetic pace to build what many are describing as a new middle-power coalition. But Sarang Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute, argued in a Foreign Policy column that it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, for a coalition like this to succeed. Sarang joins Eric to explain why divergent north-south interests will be very hard to overcome. 📌 Topics Covered in this Episode Rapid global realignment among middle powers Declining trust in U.S.-led institutions BRICS and alternative power coalitions China's growing Global South influence Transactional diplomacy and diversification What the next world order may look like Show Notes: Foreign…

People in this episode

Host: Eric Olander

Guest: Sarang Shidore

Topics covered

• middle powers
• post-American order
• global realignment
• U.S.-led institutions
• BRICS
• China's influence
• diplomacy

Keywords

• middle powers
• global order
• U.S. leadership
• diplomacy
• BRICS
• China
• international relations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Quincy Institute, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Politico

Places: South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, Japan

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