Abstract

MIKTA is a consultative forum consisting of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia. Formed in 2013, this group of G20 ‘middle powers’ has generated different expectations and assessments among global governance and foreign policy experts. Some expected MIKTA to become a G20 ginger group amid intensifying competition between the G7 and the BRICS , while others have tended to dismiss it as a ‘talk shop’ without real impact.

This research explores MIKTA ’s potential in global governance through an empirical study based on interviews with over 50 diplomats and 20 policy experts from all five member countries. Comparative analyses of the country interviews show how MIKTA members perceive other members and how they assess the utility of the MIKTA platform in furthering their own foreign policy interests. This paper compares the individual members’ approach and commitment to MIKTA as a way to examine the group’s potential and future strategy.

This study was funded by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Co-authors of this paper are Dr Sung-Mi Kim (Visiting Scholar, Cambridge), Dr Susan Harris Rimmer (Associate Professor, Griffith University) and Mr Sebastian Haug (PhD candidate, Cambridge).