Human Development and the Challenges of Global Governance: By a renewed discussion of the classification of the Middle Powers

In the context of international affairs, two group of countries receive a particular attention of the academic and political analysis: Traditional Middle Powers and Emerging Middle Powers. Traditional Middle Powers are represented by industrialized, democratic and egalitarian countries with a high level of social and political development and considered "good international citizens", as long as they help to preserve the order established by the hegemonic powers (as an example, Australia, Canada, Japan). The concept of Emerging Middle Powers referee to countries with a great economic performance and international projection but unconcerned about welfare policies, specially, because they not present a consolidated democratic political system and an adequate level of social equality, as the case of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). In this complex scenery, it is possible to find a group of countries unnoticed by the international political theory, which is located in an intermediate point between Traditional and Emerging Middle Powers. They are characterized by the existence of policies orientated to link economic growth and good quality of life that is reflected in their high level of Human Development (HDI). Therefor, we evidence the need to construct a conceptual identity for this group of countries to give them a political-institutional profile in the new world order and to establish their role in the international context.