Middle Powers in a Post-American Order
From The China in Africa Podcast by The China-Global South Project
May 8, 2026 · 42 min · Season 16 · Episode 19
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges faced by middle powers in forming new coalitions in a changing global order.
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
Guest: Sarang Shidore
Topics covered
- global realignment
- middle powers
- U.S.-led institutions
- BRICS
- China's influence
- diplomacy
- world order
Keywords
- middle powers
- global order
- diplomacy
- China
- BRICS
- U.S. institutions
- 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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