Small State Survival Research Articles

Colonial Oil and State-Making: The Separate Independence of Qatar and Bahrain

The "resource curse" has received considerable scholarly attention over the past few decades. Departing from the original argument that oil hinders democracy, comparative political scientists have presented varying claims regarding the impact of oil on political regimes. Some have denied the thesis altogether, maintaining that the correlation is a result of omitted variable bias, while others have offered a more nuanced view that the presence or absence of the curse depends on a third factor.

The survival of small states in the Gulf region: COVID-19, pandemic politics and the future of niche diplomacy

The Gulf is increasingly recognized as one of the most dynamic and unstable regions in the international system. Within the region, the survival of small states can no longer be taken for granted and power relations are conflictual. The hegemonic ambitions of larger regional state actors draw small states into a contested orbit and emphasize the fluidity of pre-existing notions of the balance of power. This has led to forms of fragmentation. Small states can no longer sit comfortably under the shelter of regional and even external super-powers. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small states like Kuwait and Qatar is a useful prism to examine the ways in which such small states attempt to project power and sovereignty through their diplomatic responses. Our argument, here, is that such discourse is framed as part of an ideational and material construct for state resilience within a regional and international system that is perceived as predatory. Yet pandemic politics reveals both the opportunities and limits of such approaches.

Small enough to fail: the structural irrelevance of the small state as cause of its elimination and proliferation since Westphalia

Since the Peace of Westphalia, few great powers have “died”, while the “death rate” and proliferation of small states has been dramatic at times. What causes these fluctuations? In this paper, I claim that the dominant reason for the extinction, emergence and proliferation of the small state over the last three and a half centuries is to be found at the system level. Ultimately, small state survival is determined by the particular set-up of the state system. I advance this argument from the perspective of international relations theory, integrating the relevant scholarship of the English School and realism, especially structural realism. The latter’s systemic perspective provides the basis for arguing that small states are structurally irrelevant. It is this feature of the small state, its irrelevance with regard to the power-based structure of the state system, which has caused the small state to “struggle for existence” in the past, and which has allowed small states to proliferate during the bipolar Cold War.

Small states: Survival and proliferation

How can the wide fluctuations in the number of small states over the past 350 years be explained? Rejecting the notion that the deaths of over 150 states can be properly explained by poor statecraft, incompetent leadership or major faults in foreign policy decision making of small states, the article claims that vast numbers of state deaths and large-scale state creation are most properly explained at the system level. An argument is developed that describes small state death and proliferation as heavily impacted by the state system. By investigating the core operating principles of the international state system since 1648 in light of their impact on the survivability of small states, the argument emerges that larger rates of survival and proliferation of small states are shaped by broad systemic factors. The article contributes a new facet to the study of the small state and offers a new and general explanation of small state death, creation and proliferation. The findings also challenge International Relation Theory’s traditional focus on great powers. It is suggested that the study of the major structuring actors in international politics may be complimented fruitfully by better understanding the system’s impact on weak and small states.

Rooftop of the World, Sandwiched between Two Rising Powers: A Critical Study on Nepal's Foreign Policies

AbstractThis paper proposes that Nepal's unalterable geographic position does not necessarily have to be disadvantageous for Nepal, and the state needs to get over the syndromes of land-lockedness and smallness. Sorting out its domestic matters is historically sound diplomacy. The foreign policy of Nepal as regards India and China needs to focus not only on a small state's survival strategies, but also in order to thrive Nepal needs to upgrade its diplomatic faculties and make use of regional forums such as SAARC for reinforcing its neighbourhood comity and economic diplomacy. Small states like Nepal can influence the foreign policies of superpowers like India and China. In this milieu, the paper charts out the constraints and prospects of the relations of Nepal with its immediate neighbours that has, to date, been grounded in the conventional notion of equidistance.

Kiribati: an environmental ‘perfect storm’

Recent environmental discourses and headlines on small island developing states (SIDS) have heralded the grave and impending threats of global warming and associated sea-level rise. These are undoubtedly significant challenges for SIDS, including atoll nations such as Kiribati. Nevertheless, securing small island state futures also requires a renewed commitment to addressing the obvious and immediate threats of urbanisation, pollution and sanitation. Looking at pressures of development on freshwater, this article argues that the future survival of small island states and their societies also greatly depends on managing the impacts of development. Approaches which can concurrently strengthen the resilience of communities and their ecosystems will result in mutual benefits for both sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

Globalization and Sustainability of Small States

Globalization is rapidly integrating markets, universalizing Western materialism, and weakening the capacity of national states to safeguard local values and institutions. While some, principally the World Bank (1999) regard integrating world markets as an efficiency‐driven process, spreading the benefits of technical innovation and information technologies around the world, many are skeptical. Skeptics include in particular social scientists writing from a Non‐Western and Islamic perspective (Ismail 1999, Rajee 2000). If globalization is indeed a threat to the Nation‐State, then it would follow that small states would be the most vulnerable. At a minimum, it is significant to inquire whether globalization threatens the survival and sustainability of small states.

Fighting for the Mini-State: Four Scenarios

Historically there was a long-standing competition to control Estonian territory, primarily between Russia, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark, until 1710 when this area was conquered and ruled for two centuries by Imperial Russia. In the twentieth century, the only rival to Russia's (USSR's) domination over Estonia has been Germany. A Norwegian security analyst, Olav Knudsen, says correctly that the Baltic states “fall outside all other geographical and political contexts than the Russian and to some extent the German one.” As is known, Estonia was occupied by Germany in the course of the World Wars in 1918 and 1941–44. Generally speaking, the pre-1991 history of Estonia is a good case to prove that the survival of small states as independent powers is precarious, “depending on a multitude of factors over which they have little influence.”

Great States, Small States, & the Prospects for International Relations TheoryThe Foreign Policy System of Israel. By Michael Brecher The Struggle for the Middle East. By Walter Laqueur Principles of World Politics. By George Modelski Weak States in a World of Powers. By Marshall R. Singer The Survival of Small States. By David Vital

Previous articleNext article No AccessReview-ArticlesGreat States, Small States, & the Prospects for International Relations Theory . By Michael Brecher . By Walter Laqueur . By George Modelski . By Marshall R. Singer The Foreign Policy System of Israel. By Michael Brecher The Struggle for the Middle East. By Walter Laqueur Principles of World Politics. By George Modelski Weak States in a World of Powers. By Marshall R. Singer The Survival of Small States. By David Vital Benjamin NimerBenjamin Nimer Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Polity Volume 8, Number 1Autumn 1975 The Journal of the Northeastern Political Science Association Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/3234351 Copyright 1975 PolityPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Review: International: The Survival of Small States

Review: International: The Survival of Small States

David Vital, The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power-Great Power Conflict. London: Oxford University Press, 1971, pp. vi, 136. - United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Small States and Territories: Status and Problems. A UNITAR Study. New York: Arno Press, 1971, pp. 216.

David Vital, The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power-Great Power Conflict. London: Oxford University Press, 1971, pp. vi, 136. - United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Small States and Territories: Status and Problems. A UNITAR Study. New York: Arno Press, 1971, pp. 216.

Super Powers and World Order, Europe and the Superpowers: Perceptions of European International Politics and The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power/Great Power Conflict

Journal Article Super Powers and World Order, Europe and the Superpowers: Perceptions of European International Politics and The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power/Great Power Conflict Get access Super Powers and World Order. Ed. by Carsten Holbraad. Canberra: Australian National University Press. 1971. 161 pp. Index. $A6.95.Europe and the Superpowers: Perceptions of European International Politics. Ed. by Robert S. Jordan. Foreword by Andrew M. Scott. Boston, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon. 1971. 302 pp. Maps. Bibliog. Index. $4.95.The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power/Great Power Conflict. By David Vital. London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1971. 136 pp. Index. £2.00. John Simpson John Simpson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 48, Issue 3, July 1972, Pages 465–467, https://doi.org/10.2307/2612727 Published: 01 July 1972

The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power/Great Power Conflict

The Survival of Small States: Studies in Small Power/Great Power Conflict