New Middle Powers of the ‘Global South’: Honest brokers or dishonest breakers?
New Middle Powers of the ‘Global South’: Honest brokers or dishonest breakers?
Policy Brief by Loïc Simonet, September 2025
In cooperation the University for Continuing Education Krems – UWK
The rise of the new middle powers from the Global South reshapes the global chessboard. These actors are neither allies nor adversaries, but transactional and autonomous players – swing states in a multiplex world. They do not seek to uphold the liberal international order, nor to destroy it; rather, they navigate it to extract gains, preserve sovereignty, and hedge against Western and Chinese dominance alike. While many present themselves as neutral brokers, they often act as revisionist disruptors.
Unlike their Cold War-era predecessors such as Canada or Australia, today’s middle powers – Türkiye, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, Qatar, the UAE – are not content with stabilizing the world order. They contest it, while shielding their economies from the costs of alignment. Their multi-alignment is less a strategy of peace than of profit and prestige. China and Russia benefit most from this posture, presenting themselves as partners against a self-serving West. This evolving diplomatic pragmatism weakens the very idea of international rules, let alone a shared value system.
If the West fails to re-engage meaningfully, these new MPs could tilt the future world order toward fragmentation. Winning them back means moving beyond moral superiority and investing in real partnerships – on health, climate, infrastructure, and governance.
To read more, download the Policy Brief HERE.