This volume argues that middle powers are important to 21st Century world politics in performing roles as (aspiring) global middle powers, regional pivots, and niche leaders. This claim is based on an analysis of the foreign policies of nine (aspiring) middle powers from the Near East, East Asia, and Europe. "Pioneers in the revival of the concept of Middle Power, Giacomello and Verbeek offer a valuable and wide-ranging collection of country case studies. Theoretically eclectic and empirically rich, the individual chapters cover states in the Middle East, Europe, and East Asia, introducing concepts such as 'niche power' and 'regional pivot', and exploring issue areas from naval power and energy security to banking, environmental policy, humanitarian aid, and military intervention. Given the authors' claim that the number of Middle Powers has grown even in the last decade, this volume should be of interest to scholars of comparative foreign policy and international politics."