PRACTICING MIDDLEPOWERMANSHIP

IN A CHANGING WORLD ORDER

 

Written evidence submitted by
Dr Zeno Leoni, Mr Ahmed Aboudouh, and Mr João Vitor Tossini


 

1.Brief introduction about the person or organisation submitting evidence:

     Dr Zeno Leoni is a Lecturer in Defence Studies at the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London within the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom - where he teaches high-ranked officers up to one- and two-star generals - and an affiliate with the Lau China Institute of King’s College London. He is an expert in US-China relations and world order and is currently working on his third book on this subject. His latest book Grand Strategy and the Rise of China: Made in America (Agenda Publishing) was published in April 2023. Dr Leoni engages policy-makers on a regular basis, and in the past he provided written and oral evidence on AUKUS, the CPTPP, and the inclusion of Australia and the UK in the US Defence Production Act. He is currently leading on the establishment of a Research Group on Middlepowermanship at King’s College London.

     Mr Ahmed Aboudouh is an associate fellow with the Chatham House, based in London. He is a foreign affairs, security and geopolitics specialist. His research focuses on China’s rising influence in the MENA region, Gulf geopolitics, the US-China competition and its implications worldwide. Mr Aboudouh is a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, and currently heads the China Studies research unit at the Emirates Policy Center (EPC). He holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, with a specific focus on China’s influence and great power competition in the MENA region.

     Mr João Vitor Tossini is a PhD candidate at the Sao Paulo State University (Unesp) and a visiting researcher at the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London. He is a writer for the UK Defence Journal, covering issues related to British power and standing worldwide. He is a member of Unesp’s Defence and International Security Studies Group (GEDES), the Navy Records Society, and the Army Records Society. Mr Tossini holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Department of International Relations at the Sao Paulo State University, focusing on the UK as a strategic actor in the South Atlantic and its regional military presence. His current focus is the relative decline of the UK in the post-Cold War era and the British position within an increasingly competitive international system. 


 

2.Question addressed

3.Summary

4.Analysis

 

5.Conclusion

6.Recommendations:

 

 

8.References

 

   Chalmers, M. (2021) The Integrated Review: The UK as a Reluctant Middle Power?, RUSI, March, https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/occasional-papers/integrated-review-uk-reluctant-middle-power

 

   English, R. and Kenny, M. (eds.). (2000) Rethinking British Decline, London: Macmillan Press Ltd.

 

   Ferrari, A. and Tafuro Ambrosetti, E. (eds.) (2023) Multipolarity After Ukraine: Old Wine in New Bottles? Milano: ISPI 
https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/multipolarity-after-ukraine-old-wine-in-new-bottles-116515 

 

   Ishmael, L. (2023) Aftermath of War in Europe: The West VS. the Global South?, Rabat: Policy Center for the New South 
 

   Kampfner, J. (2022) Britain must get real about its place in the world, Chatham House, December, https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2022-12/britain-must-get-real-about-its-place-world

 

   Kou, C.W., Huang, C.C., Job, B. (2022) The Strategic Options of Middle Powers in the Asia-Pacific, Oxon: Routledge 
 

   Leoni, Z. and Tzinieris, S. (2022) ‘To exclude or not to exclude: AUKUS and order-engineering’, Security & Defence PLuS, February, https://securityanddefenceplus.plusalliance.org/essays/to-exclude-or-not-to-exclude-aukus-and-order-engineering/ 

 

   Miliband, D. (2023) ‘The world beyond Ukraine: the survival of the west and the demands of the rest’, Foreign Affairs, May/June, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/world-beyond-ukraine-russia-west
 

   Rachman, G. (2022) ‘Xi Jinping’s China and the rise of the “global west”’, Financial Times, October 24. https://www.ft.com/content/d885aecf-4202-41cd-ad3f-476ffb19631e 

 

   Spektor, M. (2023) ‘In defense of the fence sitters: what the west gets wrong about hedging, Foreign Affairs, May/June, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/global-south-defense-fence-sitters 

   Stallings, B. (2020) Dependency in the Twenty-First Century? The Political Economy of China-Latin America Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 


   Thorp, J. (2021) Size does not matter: the UK’s continuing great power status. Wavell Room. March, https://wavellroom.com/2021/03/26/size-does-not-matter-the-uks-continuing-great-power-status/