Rethinking weak state behavior: Mongolia’s foreign policy toward China

Abstract

This article calls into question the efficacy of systemic accounts of weak state foreign policy behavior through a case study of Mongolia’s foreign policy behavior toward China. In particular, it challenges the contention within international relations and foreign policy analysis literature that weak states’ foreign policy is structurally determined. Employing James Rosenau’s five-part typology of foreign policy, the article demonstrates how Mongolia’s – a prototypical weak state – foreign policy toward China is driven by domestic factors. It also considers the case study’s implications for both the study of weak states and Northeast Asian regional dynamics.