European middle powers: Germany, France and Italy as international actors

Behind the geopolitics of great power competition lies a broad and diverse group of international actors that cannot match the status of major powers, yet wield considerable influence in specific policies and regions. These states are often referred to as middle powers, and they include actors from both the West and the Global South. They tend to act in multilateral formats, join alliances with like-minded partners and diversify their foreign policy partnerships. This Research Paper examines the concept of middlepowerness and applies it to an investigation of the foreign policies of the largest EU member states: Germany, France and Italy. Despite their relative decline compared with major and rising powers, these states retain significant resources that enable them to exert autonomous influence on specific issues in global politics. This capacity is particularly significant at a time of crisis in the transatlantic alliance due to the progressive US disengagement from Europe and from liberal values. The EU can act as a “power amplifier” for member states, but pooling the resources of middle powers does not automatically turn either those states or the EU into major powers in foreign policy.