Workarounding: Tech Middle Power Cooperation in a Turbulent World - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9819576288 ISBN 13: 9789819576289

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026

Synopsis

This book focuses on the “tech middle powers” and their patterns of cooperation. The challenge of tech middle-power (TMP) cooperation offers a fascinating window into world politics more broadly, as it lies at the intersection of three key trends in contemporary global politics. First, there's a shift toward minilateral informal collaboration practices worldwide, which are increasingly supplementing or replacing the diminishing influence of multilateral institutions and the often limited scope of bilateral partnerships. Second, the “Easternization” of science and technology has resulted in a redistribution of industrial capacity, changing global production networks, and relocated cutting-edge innovations worldwide, marking a shift away from the traditional industrial hubs of the Western OECD nations. Finally, the world is witnessing the dynamics of an increasingly bipolar geopolitical landscape, where two technological and economic superpowers—the United States and China—compete for strategic partnerships, often in an exclusive manner. Middle powers, particularly those with advanced technological capabilities, face unique economic and security challenges in this volatile environment of bipolar competition.In this collection of essays, authors explore the growing phenomenon of “workarounding” – cooperation between and among middle power countries that excludes the US and China.

About this title

About the Author

Maximilian Mayer is Junior-Professor of International Relations and Global Politics of Technology at University of Bonn. His research interests include the global politics of science and technology, China’s foreign and energy policy, and theories of International Relations.

Gedaliah Afterman is a former diplomat and foreign-policy expert, and Head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and International Relations, Reichman University. He specializes in cross-regional cooperation, superpower competition, and the strategic agency of middle and tech-enabled powers. 

Narayanappa Janardhan is the director of research at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, Washington, and the Great Game Lab, Arizona State University. His research focuses on the foreign and security policies of the Gulf countries.

Laura Mahrenbach is an expert in the politics of digital technologies and global economic governance, an adjunct professor at the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich, and a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. Her research explores how global power shifts and domestic challenges interact with artificial intelligence and big data

From the Back Cover

This book focuses on the “tech middle powers” and their patterns of cooperation. The challenge of tech middle-power (TMP) cooperation offers a fascinating window into world politics more broadly, as it lies at the intersection of three key trends in contemporary global politics. First, there's a shift toward minilateral informal collaboration practices worldwide, which are increasingly supplementing or replacing the diminishing influence of multilateral institutions and the often limited scope of bilateral partnerships. Second, the “Easternization” of science and technology has resulted in a redistribution of industrial capacity, changing global production networks, and relocated cutting-edge innovations worldwide, marking a shift away from the traditional industrial hubs of the Western OECD nations. Finally, the world is witnessing the dynamics of an increasingly bipolar geopolitical landscape, where two technological and economic superpowers—the United States and China—compete for strategic partnerships, often in an exclusive manner. Middle powers, particularly those with advanced technological capabilities, face unique economic and security challenges in this volatile environment of bipolar competition. In this collection of essays, authors explore the growing phenomenon of “workarounding” – cooperation between and among middle power countries that excludes the US and China.

Maximilian Mayer is Junior-Professor of International Relations and Global Politics of Technology at University of Bonn. His research interests include the global politics of science and technology, China’s foreign and energy policy, and theories of International Relations.

Gedaliah Afterman is a former diplomat and foreign-policy expert, and Head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and International Relations, Reichman University. He specializes in cross-regional cooperation, superpower competition, and the strategic agency of middle and tech-enabled powers. 

Narayanappa Janardhan is the director of research at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, Washington, and the Great Game Lab, Arizona State University. His research focuses on the foreign and security policies of the Gulf countries.

Laura Mahrenbach is an expert in the politics of digital technologies and global economic governance, an adjunct professor at the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich, and a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. Her research explores how global power shifts and domestic challenges interact with artificial intelligence and big data.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9819576288
• ISBN 13: 9789819576289
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 324
• Editor: Mayer Maximilian, Afterman Gedaliah, Janardhan Narayanappa, Mahrenbach Laura