{"podcast":{"title":"The China-Global South Podcast","slug":"the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371","podcast_index_feed_id":5670371,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/500733/rss","website_url":"https://sites.libsyn.com/500733","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/6/c/c/c6cc96236bd9098c88c4a68c3ddbc4f2/Untitled_design_6.png","author":"The China-Global South Project","episode_count":166,"summary":"A weekly discussion on Chinese engagement in the developing world from the news team of The China-Global South Project (CGSP). Join hosts Eric Olander in Vietnam and Cobus van Staden in South Africa for insightful interviews with scholars, analysts, and journalists from around the world. You'll also get regular updates from CGSP's editors in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-13T20:17:39.834437+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371"},"episode":{"title":"Middle Powers in a Post-American Order","slug":"middle-powers-in-a-post-american-order","published_at":"2026-05-08T05:53:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/middle-powers-in-a-post-american-order","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371","url":"https://ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b.libsyn.com/middle-powers-in-a-post-american-order","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b/CAP_05082026_Libsyn.mp3?dest-id=4287628","summary":"The U.S. created the post-World War II international order that it no longer wants to lead today. But what replaces it is still unknown. So, in the meantime, small and medium-sized countries, so-called \"middle powers,\" are scrambling to form new partnerships to insulate themselves from the inevitable instability that will arise from this transition. We're seeing this play out daily now as leaders from South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, Japan, and dozens of other countries crisscross the globe at a frenetic pace to build what many are describing as a new middle-power coalition. But Sarang Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute, argued in a Foreign Policy column that it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, for a coalition like this to succeed. Sarang joins Eric to explain why divergent north-south interests will be very hard to overcome. 📌 Topics Covered in this Episode Rapid global realignment among middle powers Declining trust in U.S.-led institutions BRICS and alternative power coalitions China's growing Global South influence Transactional diplomacy and diversification What the next world order may look like Show Notes: Foreign Policy: Can Middle Powers Gel? by Sarang Shidore The New York Times : American Supremacy Is Over, and Something New Is Coming by Sarang Shidore Politico: Trump Is Demolishing the Global Order. Here's What Might Come Next. Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas Join us on Patreon! Become a CGSP Patreon me…","meta_description":"The U.S. created the post-World War II international order that it no longer wants to lead today. But what replaces it is still unknown. So, in the meanti…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2494,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/episodes/middle-powers-in-a-post-american-order/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/middle-powers-in-a-post-american-order.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}