Middle Power Internationalism: The North-South Dimension

Lawrence T. Woods is an assistant professor of political science at
Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec.

Another product of the Western Middle Powers and Global Poverty Project,
this comparative work deals with the international development
perspectives and policies of Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway,
and Sweden. The editor, Cranford Pratt of the University of Toronto, has
organized his introduction and the volume itself around the concept of
humane internationalism: “an acceptance that citizens and governments
of the industrialized world have ethical responsibilities towards those
beyond their borders who are suffering severely and who live in abject
poverty.” He scolds the paternalism of the so-called North and the
“we know what needs to be done” attitude of many Western governments
and institutions, maintaining that cosmopolitan values and ethical
responsiveness should predominate in foreign-policy circles.

Bernard Wood’s excellent piece on the theory and practice of
middle-power coalitions takes the reader beyond the otherwise
Eurocentric bias of this volume. Asbjorn Lovbrek’s case study of the
failure of Norwegian and Dutch efforts (1976–1981) to create a Group
of Like-Minded Countries concludes that little support for significant
reforms was generated because this narrow middle-power coalition lacked
influence. This analysis is followed by Raphael Kaplinsky’s
informative discussion of how development in the South is perceived as a
threat to Northern industries and jobs, thereby weakening the political
will of middle and major powers. We need to understand and address this
domestic fear if middle-power coalitions are to have a positive impact
on international economic development issues, a point driven home by
Pratt in his summary.

Running throughout this volume is the belief in the need for a
sustained and co-ordinated middle-power development effort. The
intention is to stimulate discussion within Canada in particular; these
papers take on added importance given the recent demise of World
University Service of Canada, a prominent development organization
working with and supported by the federal government. As Pratt asks,
does middle-power internationalism have a future?