Differentiating Middle Powers: A Reframing of Australia, South Korea, and Malaysia in the Post-Cold War Asia Pacific Multilateral Architecture

Abstract

This thesis makes the case for a new approach towards middle powers, drawing from insights offered by differentiation theory, classical realism’s power politics, and social constructivism’s intersubjectivity. Considering that the middle power literature has generally highlighted the inclination of such states towards multilateralism, the thesis seeks to investigate the underlying mechanisms and processes that enable middle power actions in multilateralism to emerge, as well as the conditions that facilitate the outcomes of those actions. Focusing on the context of the post-Cold War Asia Pacific multilateral architecture, I argue that differentiation, as constitutive of the international political structure, generates middle power actions and outcomes through the mechanisms of power politics and intersubjectivity. The outcomes of middle power actions in Asia Pacific multilateralism are visible through the weakening of stratificatory differentiation, targeted in particular at the major powers, and the strengthening of role differentiation, where non-major powers take up important functions. Given the focus on multilateralism, the roles here relate to initiating multilateral platforms, or facilitating the entry of new members into existing multilateral arrangements. The claim is that, compared to other types of states, middle powers are better able to perform these actions and achieve the relevant outcomes, due to the power politics and intersubjective understandings that surround their status and actions. The thesis explores this argument by examining the actions of Australia, South Korea, and Malaysia in the creation of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum from the late 1980s to early 1990s, as well as during the formative days of the East Asia Summit from the late 1990s to early 2010s.