Emerging middle powers and the international order: The cases of Turkey and South Korea

The rise of China and the relative decline of America, as well as Russia's aggression in Ukraine, raise questions about the future of the rules-based liberal international order. This article aims to analyze the role of emerging middle powers in maintaining the US-led international order by comparing the elements of soft power in Turkish and South Korean foreign policy strategies. This analysis provides an account of these emerging middle powers’ soft power agenda and their possible role in promoting and helping to sustain the liberal international order. Turkey's increasing military activism and democratic backsliding over the past decade have led the country to distance itself from the Western model of liberal democracy and the Western alliance. In contrast, South Korea has maintained a positive global image through its vibrant democracy and the current international success of its popular culture, despite the recent threat to the country's democracy.