A Historical Perspective of Small States in the European Union

Abstract

This chapter sets out and establishes the main literature on small states in the EU and its decision-making process. It, therefore, examines the role of small state governments in this process without delving into the EU decision-making process, something which is dealt with in detail in Chap. 4. Chapter 2 is divided into seven main sections. Since the research centres around small states and their governments in EU decision-making, they thus form the basis of the discussion in Sect. 2.2 which serves as a point of departure in the analysis of small state governmental influence in EU legislative processes. Section 2.3 provides a historical and theoretical overview of the development of small state studies which focus on their capacities in an international relations context. This section, in fact, focuses on the literature that reveals how small states maintain certain capacities that make up for size-related burdens. Sect. 2.4 then reveals that there is not much literature on small state strategies as opposed to their capacities. As being stated in Sect. 2.5, this is truly the case for the smallest states in the EU. Therefore, these last two sections illustrate the point that small state strategies should be focused upon if we are to understand small state influence in EU decision-making processes. Section 2.6 then presents key explanatory factors on small state governmental channels of influence in EU decision-making processes which, as stated in Chap. 1, are re-visited in the methodology chapter (Chap. 5) and empirical chapters (see Chaps. 7 and 8). Finally, Sect. 2.7 provides a conclusion.