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PoliticsAsia

The 8 countries that could swing the global power balance

Melissa Chan
April 18, 2026

As superpowers compete, a quieter struggle is unfolding across Eurasia. Analyst Ken Moriyasu of the US think tank, the Hudson Institute, explains how eight middle powers, the region's so-called swing states, could decide global affairs.

https://p.dw.com/p/5CKxP

Ken Moriyasu is a senior fellow at the US-based Hudson Institute think tank. He categorizes Armenia, Azerbaijan, HungaryKazakhstan, Mongolia, PakistanTurkey and Uzbekistan as the rising middle powers of Eurasia.

For example: "China has been really focusing on Hungary as a gateway to the European Union. It has been investing heavily there, because Hungary kind of has, because of its political leaders, had problems having a friendly relationship with the rest of the EU. China's taken advantage of that," he says.

For more, watch the video above.