MIKTA: A FUNCTIONING PRODUCT OF “NEW” MIDDLE POWER-ISM?
MIKTA: A FUNCTIONING PRODUCT OF “NEW” MIDDLE POWER-ISM?

Summary/Abstract: The concept of middle powers is as difficult as ever to define; focusing on what makes them unique is a useful way to try to make sense of them. One such peculiarity is middle power multilateralism. The new millennium has not only allowed middle powers to assert themselves and seek to extend their influence in international politics, but it has also brought a new perspective to middle power multilateralism, which is labeled as “new” middle power-ism in this study. This study attempts to analyze the place and functionality of the new grouping MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, (South) Korea, Turkey, Australia) in the evolution of “new” middle power-ism, and compares MIKTA with three significant multilateral structures in which middle powers strive to have their voices heard: G20, IBSA and BRICS. This paper argues that MIKTA, as a pure middle power, multilateral structure, and as the most recent product of “new” middle power-ism, provides a successful institutional framework which increases the influence of its members: the ‘whole’ of its (burgeoning) cumulative power is greater than the sum of its individual (country) parts.

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