Strategic hedging: a case study of nineteenth-century Siam

Abstract

ABSTRACT A longstanding view in realist studies of international relations has been that within the context of great power competition, lesser states must choose between balancing or bandwagoning. However, a third option is also available: strategic hedging, which provides a means of explaining foreign policy strategies that do not traditionally fit within this standard binary. This article seeks to explain the Kingdom of Siam’s (modern-day Thailand) foreign policy during the nineteenth century when growing competition between European powers, namely France and Britain, manifested itself in aggressive and competitive intervention into South East Asia. Siam presents a unique case study, as it is one of only two states in Asia to resist direct colonization during that period. This article explores how, through a flexible foreign policy of strategic hedging in which complementary and mutually counteracting actions were undertaken within a wider context of great power competition, Siam maintained independence as a sovereign state.