Small States, Great Powers, and Armed Drones

2020 ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
James Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Great Powers ◽  
Small States

scholarly journals The Scramble for Africa Reloaded? Portugal, European Colonial Claims and the Distribution of Colonies in the 1930s

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Márcia Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Great Powers ◽  
European History ◽  
Small States ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
International Context ◽  
Territorial Integrity ◽  
International History ◽  
Portuguese Empire

Abstract Situating itself at the crossroads of colonial history, international history and European history, this article examines the movement for colonial appeasement and the redistribution of African colonies in the 1930s from a frequently overlooked viewpoint: Portugal and its empire. Even though Portugal was not a principal actor in the discussion of colonial redistribution, the Portuguese empire was placed at the centre of these debates as a subject to be discussed. The article demonstrates that the great powers’ perception of Portugal as an inadequate colonial power was central to their strategy of colonial redistribution in an international context that espoused guarantees of territorial integrity to great and small states alike. In addition, it shows how Portugal entered the debate on colonial appeasement to promote a rhetoric of victimisation and bolster support for the dictatorship.

Bilaterals, Trilaterals and G2: Pragmatic Hedging Between Great Powers and the Role of the Middle Powers and Small States in Northeast Asia

2016 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 58-67
Author(s):  
Tai Wei LIM
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Community ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Small States ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Middle Powers ◽  
Northeast Asian

Trilateral diplomacy offers an opportunity for Northeast Asian leaders to meet and talk in a business-like manner, rather than having the region risk skirmishes between maritime coastguards and fishermen, helicopter landings by politicians on disputed islands and icy-cold poses during leadership summits. In such conversations, the United States remains the most acceptable common denominator for other large states and middle powers in the international community.

Small States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yee-Kuang Heng
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
International System ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Small States ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Small State ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
Strategic Competition ◽  
Endogenous Variables

Scholarship in international studies has usually tended to focus on the great powers. Yet, studying small state behavior can in fact reveal deep-seated structural changes in the international system and provide significant insights into the management of power asymmetries. Overcoming the methodological limitations of gigantism in scholarship and case study selection is another epistemological benefit. Rather than conventional assumptions of weaknesses and vulnerabilities, research on small states has moved in fascinating directions toward exploring the various strategies and power capabilities that small states must use to manage their relationships with great powers. This means, even in some cases, attempts to forcibly shape their external environments through military instruments not usually associated with the category of small states. Clearly, small states are not necessarily hapless or passive. Even in terms of power capabilities that often define their weaknesses, some small states have in fact adroitly deployed niche hard power military capabilities and soft power assets as part of their playbook. These small states have projected influence in ways that belie their size constraints. Shared philosophies and mutual learning processes tend to underpin small state strategies seeking to maximize whatever influence and power they have. These include forming coalitions, principled support for international institutions, and harnessing globalization to promote their development and security interests. As globalization has supercharged the rapid economic development of some small states, the vicissitudes that come with interdependence have also injected a new understanding of vulnerability beyond that of simply military conflict. To further complicate the security environment, strategic competition between the major powers inevitably impacts on small states. How small states boost their “relevance” vis-à-vis the great powers has broader implications for questions that have animated the academy, such as power transitions and the Thucydides Trap in the international system. While exogenous systemic variables no doubt remain the focus of analysis, emerging research shows how endogenous variables such as elite perceptions, geostrategic locations and availability of military and economic resources can play a key role determining the choices small states make.

The Grand Strategies of Small States

2021 ◽  
pp. 489-505
Author(s):  
Anders Wivel
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
National Security ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Grand Strategy ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Grand Strategies

This article discusses the nature, opportunities and limitations of small state grand strategy. It identifies the similarities and differences between the grand strategies of small states and great powers and unpacks the nature of traditional defensive small state grand strategies hiding and shelter-seeking as well as more recent offensive, influence-seeking small state grand strategies under the heading of smart state strategy. The article argues that while small state grand strategy remains tied to national security and is formulated in the shadow of great power interests, a changing security environment creates both the need and opportunity for small states to use their weakness instrumentally for maximizing interests. The likelihood of success depends on a pragmatic political culture and the willingness and ability to prioritize goals and means to utilize their nonthreatening small state status in “smart” or “entrepreneurial” policies.

Small state survival in a system of collective hegemony: the concert system, 1815–1918

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Maass
Keyword(s):  
International Politics ◽  
First World War ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Small States ◽  
World War ◽  
Small State ◽  
The First World War ◽  
First World ◽  
State Survival

The 4th chapter starts with the Congress of Vienna 1814/15 and moves the discussion to the eve of the First World War. At Vienna, the so-called concert system was introduced, and it structured most of 19th century international politics. But how did the small state fare in the 19th century system? During the first half of the century, small state numbers continued to erode before the all but collapsed in the later decades of the century. These historic losses of small states, it is argued, stem largely from the particular ‘oligopolistic’ features of the concert system and its key modifiers. Small state survivability decreased as great powers formed a cartel and later split into two hostile camps.

Small States in World Politics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Maass
Keyword(s):  
Causal Link ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
System Level ◽  
Small States ◽  
Weak States ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Small State ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Over Time

What is the story behind the paradoxical survival of small and weak states in a world of great powers and crude power politics? The answer lies at the system-level: Small states survival is shaped by the international states system. Resting on three main pillars – theory, history, and quantitative analysis – the study’s key findings draw a picture of the small state as highly dependent on the states system in its efforts to survive. The investigation is focused on the causal link between small state survival, abolishment, or proliferation and the states system in its various historical incarnations. This provides the basis for the main argument: Variations in the states system’s main characteristics create noticeable changes in the system’s hospitality toward the small state and thus impact heavily on small state survivability. These dynamics lead to small state creation and termination, which is reflected in and thus explains the large up- or downward changes in the number of small states over time.

Revisiting intervention: a survey of recent developments

1987 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Little
Keyword(s):  
International Society ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Small States ◽  
Effective Mechanism ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Domestic Affairs

Whether the literature is new or old, two observations have repeatedly been made about intervention. The first is that intervention is a ubiquitous and endemic feature of the international arena. Guelke argues, for example, that intervention is ‘inherent in the nature of international society’ and, more recently, Bull sums up the views of a series of authors who all agree, he says, that intervention is a ‘built-in feature of our present international arrangements’. Not only do the great powers persistently intervene in the domestic affairs of small states such as Vietnam and Afghanistan, but there is also a tendency for small states to interfere inside each other's boundaries. Egypt, Syria, Cuba, Vietnam and a host of other small states have all conducted policies of intervention. It is also argued, moreover, that as the global economy becomes more interdependent, the potential for intervention is constantly on the increase. The decision to extend or refuse credit facilities, for example, can be seen as a very effective mechanism for intervening in the domestic affairs of the state.

Wartime Economies, 1939–1945

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Land ◽  
Jari Eloranta
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Small States ◽  
World War ◽  
Small State ◽  
Total War ◽  
War Effort ◽  
European Economies ◽  
Second World

This chapter provides an overview of European economies during the Second World War, showing that total war affected all economies, yet in different ways. Mobilization presented massive challenges, and often led to labour shortages in other sectors. Resources proved to be a decisive factor in determining the outcome of the war, since richer nations were able to get more out of their economies and populations for the war effort. This chapter first considers Great Britain and Germany as comparable great powers dealing with the exigencies of total war, and then puts the spotlight on Switzerland, as a case study of a neutral nation during wartime, and Finland, a small state that was forced into the war. The comparison of different states during this conflict highlights the connections between large and small states, a perspective that has not been emphasized in earlier literature.

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