The concept of middle power. The cases of Spain and Mexico

• Main Author: Jordi Palou
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) 1993-07-01
• Series: Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals
• Online Access: http://www.cidob.org/es/content/download/7165/71709/file/26palou.pdf
• ISSN: 1133-6595; 2013-035X

The concept of power refers to a certain capacity of particular States to impose their will on others and make them act in a certain way. In order to measure this influence and establish a hierarchy process, recourse has been made to various geographical, demographic,economic, military and political indicators. In the case of middle powers one ought also to add that the will of the State is of maximum importance in terms of how it acts as a middle power.From a list of 15 middle powers drawn up on criteria used in preceeding lists, the Spanish and Mexican cases are analyzed, (both of which are considered not incorrectly as middle powers for various reasons which share certain similarities) ; for their geostrategicsituation, for their level of economic development inferior to that of their neighbours, because they have served as models (economic development and democratic transition respectively) and also because both have offered themselves as “bridges”. Among the differences can be highlighted that which seperates those powers orientated towards the developed world and those which accept their belonging to the third world.At a moment in which States have multiplied themselves and in which the withdrawal of colonial powers has led to a certain withdrawal of those superpower pressures, the possibility that some middle powers can consolidate in some areas of influence is opened. The economic situation also plays a fundamental role and in this sense the crisis can be an important limitation. In any case the concept of middle power is indivisible from a specific international context and at present its main scope for action is the north-south confrontation with the economic factor at the forefront. Those compromises with which it has entered with certain organizations of economic integration can also reduce its margin for manoeuvre. Finally, serious doubts are cast regarding the possibility of a concerted action by the middle powers in order to introduce qualitative improvements in international relations. It is, as with many others, a concept that needs to be reexamined and adapted to the newinternational context.