Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has stated that the next world order will be decided by the so-called “middle powers” in the Global South. During his visit to Egypt, the Finnish leader stated that countries such as India, Egypt, Brazil and others in the Global South can take agency and power in global politics.
Speaking at the American University in Cairo, the Finnish leader stated that the global landscape has been shaped by three main blocs: the Global West, the Global East, and the Global South.
Furthermore, quoting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Stubb added that the global order has changed with the emergence of middle powers in the Global South.
The changing ‘triangle of power’
Quoting Carney, the Finnish President stated that the Global South in this “triangle of power” is no longer a passive player.
“Within that global South, you have what Carney calls middle powers, like India, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, that will decide what the next world order looks like. So, the whole balance of the world is being realigned,” said Stubb.
Further elaborating his point, the Finnish leader highlighted Egypt’s young population as a sign of “significant demographic and economic potential.”
“The global south has both demography and economy on its side and has the power to either pick sides or find its own path between multilateralism and multipolarity,” said Stubb.
“Now is the moment when middle powers take the agency and power that I think belongs to them,” the President added further.
Stubb urges reform in UNSC
During his address at the American University, the Finnish president also urged for reform in the United Nations Security Council, with special emphasis on revoking the veto power of the permanent five – the US, the UK, France, Russia and China.
Along with this, the Finnish leader also called for increasing the permanent seats on the UNSC from five to ten to reflect the current global order.
Stubb added that at least one seat should be given to Latin America, two to Africa and two to Asia.
“We need to reform the global institutions. I have called for a new San Francisco moment. I actually called it the New Delhi moment, because when I launched it, I was in India. So, get world leaders and countries together to think about how to reform multilateral institutions, especially the United Nations,” he said, referring to his speech made at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, where he said the end of Western dominance has arrived.
The Finnish leader added that voting rights should be suspended for a member nation if they are found to be in violation of the UN Charter.
He added that, to give middle powers more agency, the UN General Assembly should also be able to overturn decisions made by the UNSC.
