Awkward Powers: Escaping Traditional Great and Middle Power Theory

Download or read book Awkward Powers: Escaping Traditional Great and Middle Power Theory written by Gabriele Abbondanza and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-10-04 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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nature of the global power hierarchy, it draws attention to a number of countries that fit awkwardly into existing but outdated categories such as “great power” and “middle power”.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.