The Success of Small States in International Relations: Mice that Roar?

ISBN-13: 9781032323787 / Angielski

Godfrey Baldacchino

Opis

The Success of Small States in International Relations highlights the normality and power of small states in international relations.

This book overturns the stereotype that small states, however defined, are weak and are, or ought to be, consigned to the margins of international relations. It argues that small states are not ‘punching above their weight’, or even anomalies – since it is large states which are the anomaly in the global system. The text unpacks the nature and character of small state success, while also looking critically at thirteen episodes in modern history where small states, singly or collectively, emerged victorious in confrontations with larger states. The case studies, globally sourced, are bookended by conceptual and analytic reviews of what these events mean for diplomacy, international relations and small states more generally.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of comparative political science and international relations, particularly from small states, as well as policy makers and senior small state government officers.

Spis treści

1. Small State Success in International Relations: A Rationale  2. Reproposing the Small State  3. Between Idea and Refuge: How the Republic of San Marino Survived the Emergence of Italy  4. Interpreting Iceland’s Victories in the ‘Cod Wars’ with the United Kingdom  5. Neutralism as a Strategic Culture for a Small State: Malta’s Showdown with NATO and Britain, 1971–72  6. Aruba Versus the Rest: The Case for Separatism and Non-sovereignty  7. Timor-Leste: The Unexpected Victory  8. A Small State Taking on a Giant: Antigua and Barbuda ‘Getting the Better’ of the United States Without Overturning Structural Asymmetry  9. Spoiling the Celebration: Liechtenstein Gets Noticed in Europe  10. Degrees of Success: The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference  11. ‘Door Kicker’: Explaining St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Successful Play for a Seat on the United Nations Security Council  12. The Fight to Achieve Full Decolonisation: Mauritius Versus the United Kingdom  13. Somaliland: A Partial, Fragile, Yet Significant Small De Facto State Victory  14. Climate Change, Multilateralism and Small States: How the Marshall Islands Rocked the Boat at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)  15. Small State Success in Actual Arenas: New Zealand’s and Iceland’s Overachievement in Sport  16. Epilogue: Small State Size is More Than a Capacity Constraint

O autorze

Godfrey Baldacchino is Professor of Sociology at the University of Malta, Malta's Ambassador-at-Large for Islands and Small States, and founding editor of the Small States & Territories open access journal. He has authored and edited over 40 books, including The Routledge International Handbook of Island Studies (2018), Solution Protocols to Festering Island Disputes (2017), Entrepreneurship in Small Island States and Territories (2015) and (with Anders Wivel) Handbook on the Politics of Small States (2020). His research interests include island studies, small state studies, political geography, international relations, island tourism, brain rotation, immigration, labour relations and human resource management.