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Emerging Powers and Leadership Norms

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Abstract

Leadership is a notoriously ambiguous term in international politics, one with meanings that range from disguised hegemony or domination on the one hand to purely consensual coalition-building and the provision of focal points for collective action on the other. The term usually has positive normative content (leadership is viewed as necessary for global governance to succeed), but the form that leadership takes—the mix of instruments that are deployed, whether a single leader is necessary or collective leadership is possible—varies over time and across regions. As global leadership by the USA is called into question, the leadership norms advanced by emerging powers represent different formulas that may ultimately be transferred to the global level. Brazil in South America, Germany in Europe, India in South Asia, and China in East Asia demonstrate specific types of leadership that may coincide or clash as their roles in global governance grow in importance.

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Notes

  1. This research is summarized in Ahlquist and Levi (2011).

  2. For examples, see Flemes and Wehner (2015, 167).

  3. Statistics reported by the Asian Development Bank for the Asia–Pacific region: https://aric.adb.org/fta.

  4. Brian Spegele, “China Takes a Carrot and Stick Approach to Dealing with Neighbors,” Wall Street Journal, 12 November 2015.

  5. On these features of Brazil’s economy and economic policies, Porzecanski (2015) and Villela (2015).

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Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the research assistance of Min Jung Kim.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of International Service, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20016-8071, USA

    Miles Kahler

  2. Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY, USA

    Miles Kahler

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  1. Miles Kahler
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Correspondence to Miles Kahler.

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Kahler, M. Emerging Powers and Leadership Norms. Fudan J. Hum. Soc. Sci. 13, 7–27 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-019-00272-4

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