Awkward Powers: Escaping Traditional Great and Middle Power Theory: (Global Political Transitions)

This book introduces the editors’ new concept of “Awkward Powers”. By undertaking a critical re-examination of the state of International Relations theorising on the changing nature of the global power hierarchy, it draws attention to a number of countries that fit awkwardly into existing but outdated categories such as “great power” and “middle power”. It argues that conceptual categories pertaining to the apex of the international hierarchy have become increasingly unsatisfactory, and that new approaches focusing on such “Awkward Powers” can both rectify shortcomings on power theorising whilst shining a much-needed theoretical spotlight on significant but understudied states. The book’s contributors examine a broad range of empirical case studies, including both established and rising powers across a global scale to illustrate our conceptual claims. Through such a novel process, we argue that a better appreciation of the de facto international power hierarchy in the 21st century can be achieved.

Table of Contents:
Part 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1. The Case for Awkward Powers.- Part 2: Awkward Great Powers.- Chapter 2. The Odd Axis: Germany, Italy, and Japan as Awkward Great Powers.- Chapter 3. India: An Awkward Great Power?.- Chapter 4. A liminal and transitional awkward power: Brazil betwixt the great and middle powers.- Part 3: Awkward Middle Powers.- Chapter 5. Thailand as an Awkward Middle Power.- Chapter 6. Middle power awkwardness? Indonesia’s norm entrepreneurship in ASEAN.- Chapter 7. Malaysia as an Awkward Middle Power.- Chapter 8. The Equivocal Power of South Africa.- Chapter 9. Between a regional hegemon and a middle power: Is Nigeria an awkward middle power?.- Chapter 10.The Normative Awkwardness of Pakistan.- Chapter 11. Neither This Nor That: Understanding North Korea via Role Theory.- Chapter 12. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Rentier Middle Power in Pursuit of Global Leadership of the Islamic Community.- Chapter 13. Awkward and Peculiar: On Israel Flying Above its Designated Positional Pigeonhole.- Chapter 14. Singapore as an awkward “little red dot”: between the small and middle power status.- Chapter 15. Belgium: The capacities of a middle power, but the ambitions of a small power?.- Part 4: Conclusion.- Chapter 16.What makes an awkward power? Recurrent patterns and defining characteristics.  

About the Author :
Gabriele Abbondanza, Ph.D., is Visiting Fellow at the Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney. He specialises in Australian and Italian foreign and security policy; national power, and regional, middle, and great power theory. His research has been published in journals such as European Political Science, History of Political Thought, Australian Journal of International Affairs, and The International Spectator. He has published two monographs on Australian and Italian geopolitics (Aracne), and currently teaches a number courses related to International Relations and Security. Thomas Wilkins, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer in International Security in the Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney, and a Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) at the Japan Institute for International Affairs. He has published widely on International Relations theory and Asia-Pacific securityissues in journals such as Review of International Studies, Australian Journal of International Affairs, and International Relations of the Asia Pacific. He co-edited the volume Rethinking Middle Powers (Routledge) and his latest monograph is entitled Security in Asia Pacific (Lynne Rienner).