New Powers ─ How to Become One and How to Manage Them

Being the new kid on the block is seldom easy at any level, and it is certainly not easy in the anarchical world of international politics. New powers such as Brazil, China and India have to tread a difficult balance as they negotiate their way to the top. They must signal a sufficient level of conformity to show that they do not pose a threat to the system, and thereby avoid preemptive reprisals. But habitually conciliatory diplomacy is likely to lead established powers to regard them as pushovers. Effective bargaining holds the key to finding the balance between these extremes. Established powers also have no straightforward answers available to them. If the aims of the new power are limited, then engagement is a worthwhile enterprise. But if they are radically revisionist or revolutionary, then its disruptive potential to the system may necessitate containment from the established powers. Assessing the intentions of new powers and responding appropriately is crucial for the maintenance of international peace and stability. The key to such an assessment lies in an analysis of negotiation behaviour, which Narlikar examines in the case of the three most important candidates vying for great power status today--Brazil, China, and India. Together they present some fascinating commonalities in their diplomacy but also significant differences. The range of cases of new powers studied here also allows us some scope for generalisation on how new entrants into great power clubs might behave, and what strategies the established powers can use most effectively to accommodate their rise.

Dr. Amrita Narlikar is University Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge, and Official Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge.