Small States and the New Security Environment

ISBN-13: 9783030515317 / Angielski / Miękka / 2021 / 238 str.

Anne-Marie Brady; Baldur Thorhallsson

Spis treści

Anne-Marie Brady and Baldur Thorhallsson, Small States and the Turning Point in Global Politics.- Alan Tidwell, Building Shelter in Washington: The Politics of Small State Engagement.- Caroline Kennedy-Pipe and Iftikhar Zaidi, The Hybrid Challenge and Small States.- Anne-Marie Brady and Hiromichi Higashi, How to Give China Face, Yet Not Bow to Pressure: Albania’s Delicate Balancing Act with China.- James Rogers, Small States, Great Powers, and Armed Drones.- Margarita Šešelgytè and Neringa Bladaite, How to Defend Society? Baltic Responses to Hybrid Threats.- Robert P. Wheelersburg, North Atlantic Small State Security 2025: The West Nordic Security Zone.- Rasmus Mølgaard Mariager and Anders Wivel, From Nordic peacekeeper to NATO peacemaker: Denmark's journey from semi-neutral to super ally.- Zivile Marija Vaicekauskaite, Security in the Nordic Baltic Region and Russia: Towards Enhanced Regional Defence Cooperation?.- Hillary Briffa, Neutrality and Shelter Seeking: The Case of Malta.- Steven Murphy, Friends with Benefits? NATO and the European Neutral/Non-aligned States.- Andrea Figulová and Kristína Janková, One region, different strategies: Slovakia and the V4 in the Euro-Atlantic security environment.- Imad K. Harb, Shelter and Strategic Hedging in the Gulf Cooperation Council.- Vahram Ter-Matevosyan and Narek Mkrtchyan, The Conduct of Armenian Foreign Policy: Limits of the Precarious Balance.- Brahim Saidy, Qatar’s Military Power and Diplomacy: the Emerging Roles of Small States in International Relations.

Blurb

This book examines the security, defence and foreign policy choices and challenges of small states in NATO and its small partner states in the new security environment. The main aim of the book is to analyse how these states are dealing with current and emerging security challenges and how they might better prepare for these challenges. 

A special focus is on ‘new’ security threats and solutions, such as drones and hybrid warfare. Simultaneously, the book focusses on how small states are responding to emerging ‘old threats’, such as Russian aggression in its neighbouring states and increased activity in the North Atlantic. The book makes an attempt to answer questions like: How are the small states of NATO and its small partner states adjusting to the new geo-political and geo-economic environment? Do small states in NATO manage the tension between alliance commitments differently from small states that are not members of NATO? What are the core strategic interests of the NATO and non-NATO partner small states? 

The book is about the external dimension of inherent size-related difficulties in states and how small states compensate for their inbuilt structural weaknesses compared with their larger neighbouring states. One third of the member states of NATO are small and most NATO partner states are small states too.  Small states frequently have a disproportionate effect on global politics and they are more often affected by global shifts of power, yet they have less resources available to address security challenges. The aim of the book is to enhance the understanding of the role of small states in the changing global international security environment.   

The book presents the theory of shelter (which is derived from the diverse and extensive literature on small states) and uses it to examine how small states respond to new and old security threats. Shelter theory addresses three interrelated issues of common concerns to small states: the reduction of risk before a possible crisis event, assistance in absorbing shocks in times of crises, and help in recovering after such an event. In short, shelter theory claims that small states need external shelter in order to survive and prosper. They are dependent on the economic, political, and societal shelter provided by larger states, as well as regional and international organizations.