Between Soft Power and Development Promotion: South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Middle Income Countries

The paper ‘Between Soft Power and Development Promotion: South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Middle Income Countries’ by José Fernando Osorio Pereira is published by GATE Center as part of a collaboration with the Inter-University Master’s Degree in Strategies and Technologies for Development offered by the Complutense University of Madrid and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The author examines the role of South-South (SSC) and Triangular (TC) cooperation as development strategies and instruments of soft power for Middle Income Countries (MICs). These countries, despite their economic growth, face significant structural challenges and a reduction in official development assistance (ODA) due to their economic classification. SSC and TC thus emerge as alternatives to strengthen development processes and improve the positioning of these countries in the global arena, especially in the context of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The study highlights how some MICs, such as Mexico, Colombia, Turkey and India, use SSC and TC to project soft power, promoting development agendas that, in turn, reinforce their national interests and influence on the international stage. The author argues that this dual role of SSDC and TC as tools of cooperation and soft diplomacy is evident in the strategic focus of these countries, which seek to position themselves as key allies in their respective regions and beyond.

The analysis underlines the importance of professionalising and structuring these forms of cooperation to maximise their effectiveness in promoting development and building robust ‘soft power’. This Young Voices paper shows how in this way, SSC and TC not only complement traditional models of cooperation, but also strengthen the internal capacities of MICs, enabling them to better face development challenges and collaborate in the management of global problems.