Middle Powers in World Trade Diplomacy: India, South Africa and the Doha Development Agenda

Leading developing countries are becoming increasingly active in engaging with the management of the world economy, and are inclined to pursue middle power diplomacy in order to shape negotiations and diffuse crises in contemporary global governance.India and South Africa are two prime cases of developing countries which have deployed different bargaining approaches in their attempt to enhance their influence and international status. In the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they have strived to place development at the centre of negotiations and re-balance commitments between North and South. After years of negotiations, India succeeded in overcoming the limitations of middle power diplomacy and acting as a major player whose consent is essential for concluding negotiations. In contrast, South Africa remained a secondary player in the WTO, partially maintaining its role as leader of the global South but unable to directly influence the progress of the Doha Development Agenda.This book provides a revealing insight into how developing countries can promote change in international institutions, and will appeal to scholars of Diplomacy, Global Governance, Development and International Politics.

"Global governance is increasingly influenced by emerging economies, something which the status quo powers must acknowledge and accommodate. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the discussions within the WTO, not least in the Doha round of talks. This important book provides a much-needed comparative analysis of the roles of two key developing countries—India and South Africa—in these often contentious deliberations. The author's detailed analysis gives an excellent overview and analytical appraisal of how New Delhi and Pretoria adopted various positions during the Doha process and why. As the BRICS become ever more important in global affairs, Charalampos Efstathopoulos' book is a major contribution in the current debates about the role of Southern powers in global governance and how this is likely to play out in the future." - Ian Taylor, University of St. Andrews, UK

Examining how leading developing countries are increasingly shaping international economic negotiations, this book uses the case studies of India and South Africa to demonstrate the ability of states to exert diplomatic influence through different bargaining strategies and represent the interests of the developing world in global governance.

Charalampos Efstathopoulos is a Lecturer in International Politics at Aberystwyth University, UK. He specialises in Indian and South African foreign policy, the World Trade Organisation, and theoretical approaches to middle powers.

Introduction

1. Middle Power Diplomacy in International Relations

2. The Doha Development Agenda, 2000-1

3. The Middle Power Offensive, 2002-3

4. A New Leadership, 2004-5

5. The Informal Process and Crisis-management, 2006-13

6. Southern Middle Powers in Comparative Perspective