While the roles of China, India, and increasingly Brazil in relation to Africa attract much policy interest, the growing engagement of other "middle" emerging powers such as Turkey and South Korea receives little attention. This report takes contrasting case studies to question whether the trend for diplomatic and economic outreach between African states and middle-ranking emerging powers is sustainable.

This empirically and theoretically grounded book provides insights into the ascendance of powers such as Turkey, South Korea and Indonesia and their relationship with Africa. Leading scholars present case studies from the BRICS and beyond to demonstrate the constantly evolving and complex character of these ties and their place in the global capitalist order. They also offer new theoretical insights, as well as theorisation of the spatio-temporal dynamics involved in processes of accumulation within the African space. Their contention is that, despite their supposed anti-imperialism, these emerging powers have become agents for continued uneven development. This innovative edited collection will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, political science, development studies, area studies, geography and economics.

The rise of emerging or new powers has recently become one of the most researched areas in International Relations. While most studies focus on relations between traditional and emerging powers, this edited collection turns the focus 180 degrees and asks how countries outside these two power sets have reacted to the emerging new world order. Are emerging powers creating a united front in a struggle to change the global order, or are they more concerned with national interests? Are we seeing major changes in the global order, or simply an adjustment by the traditional powers to the emergence of new contenders? In order to the answer these questions, the authors take a broad thematic approach in analyzing recent trends in the interplay between states, markets and societies, concentrating in particular on Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and on the three major emerging powers: China, India and Brazil.

The early twenty-first century has seen the beginning of a considerable shift in the global balance of power. Major international governance challenges can no longer be addressed without the ongoing co-operation of the large countries of the global South. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, ASEAN states, and Mexico wield great influence in the macro-economic foundations upon which rest the global political economy and institutional architecture. It remains to be seen how the size of the emerging powers translates into the ability to shape the international system to their own will. In this book, leading international relations experts examine the positions and roles of key emerging countries in the potential transformation of the G8 and the prospects for their deeper engagement in international governance. The essays consider a number of overlapping perspectives on the G8 Heiligendamm Process, a co-operation agreement that originated from the 2007 summit, and offer an in-depth look at the challenges and promises presented by the rise of the emerging powers. Co-published with the Centre for International Governance Innovation

The term "middle power" is conceptually fragile. Some scholars have even argued for abandoning it. This book argues that the concept needs to be analysed more profoundly and that new analytical tools need to be developed to better understand the phenomenon. The traditional approach, based on Western states, is insufficient and has become increasingly irrelevant in a transformed global environment. Instead of drawing from a single theory of international relations, the contributors have chosen to build upon a wide range of theories in a deliberate demonstration of analytic eclecticism. A pluralistic approach provides stronger explanations while remaining analytically and intellectually rigorous. Many of the theory contributions are reconsidering how the largely "Western" bases of such theorising need revising in light of the "emerging middle powers", many of which are in Asia. Presenting a strong argument for studying middle powers, this book explores both the theory and empirical applications of the concept by rethinking the definition and characteristics of middle powers using a range of case studies. It examines changes in the study of middle powers over the last decade, proposing to look at the concept of middle powers in a coherent and inclusive manner. Finally, it aims to further the discussion on the evolution of the international system and provides sound conclusions about the theoretical usefulness and empirical evolution of middle powers today.