Autonomy, necessity, and the small state: ruling Kuwait in the twentieth century

1991 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Tètreault
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Oil Revenues

To reduce its strategic vulnerability, a small state may enter into a cliency relationship with a more powerful state. Among the consequences of cliency for the small state are the acquisition of resources, which can be used against threatening neighbors as well as against domestic populations, and the reduction of autonomy. In 1899, Mubarak, Kuwait's ruler, entered a cliency relationship with Britain. As a result, Kuwait was able to avoid incorporation into the Ottoman Empire. Although Mubarak and subsequent Kuwaiti rulers lost their foreign policy autonomy, they acquired resources enabling them to enhance their domestic autonomy by suppressing elite groups that were formerly integral participants in governing Kuwait. In 1961, oil revenues enabled Kuwait's rulers to end the cliency relationship and to provide their own resources for repressing or pacifying domestic groups. But the fact that oil revenues proved less effective than cliency in maintaining Kuwait's strategic security illustrates the fundamental security dilemma faced by all small states, even rich ones.

scholarly journals Being a Small State: Discussion on the Role of Size

2019 ◽  
pp. 73-91
Author(s):  
Justinas Lingevičius
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State

This paper discusses theoretical debates regarding small states and their foreign policy and also argues that research should include more analysis of small states’ identities and the dominant meanings related to being a small state. Using poststructuralistic theoretical perspective and discourse analysis, two empirical cases – Lithuania and New Zealand – are analysed with attention paid to the meanings of smallness and the ways these meanings are constructed. Empirical analysis follows with suggestions for how future research of small states could be improved.

scholarly journals Small States and the Struggle for Power in the Arctic Region: A Case Study of Denmark

Politologija ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-108
Author(s):  
Gabija Lukšaitė
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
International Environment ◽  
Foreign Policy Strategies ◽  
The Arctic Region

This paper examines the specifics of foreign policy strategies used by Denmark as a small state in the Arctic region. Based upon a number of theoretical approaches in terms of analyzing small state foreign policy, this study is primarily focused on how small states manage to pursue their goals in an international environment typically dominated by large powers.

scholarly journals Foreign policy positioning issue of small States (on the example of the Republic of Belarus relations with the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China)

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 113-128
Author(s):  
E. D. Salmygina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Independent State ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Policy Strategies ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Foreign Policy Strategies

Small states are very weak in the political area. That is why there is a need for them to try to choose the various foreign policy strategies to defend themselves. Belarus is a small state that needs to survive in our rapidly developing and politically unstable world. Having emerged as a newly independent state as the result of the collapse of the USSR, Belarus faced a difficult choice in the decision where it was going to move further and on whom it could rely. In particular, in recent years, Belarus needs to make a subtle strategic calculation as to how to manage its relations with two important partners: Russia and China. This article considers the theory of small states’ foreign policy strategies in detail. It analyzes the choice of Belarus’s foreign policy strategies towards China and Russia. It shows that Belarus combines some characteristics from the classic small states’ foreign policy strategies, and it does not fully follow any of them.

The Role of the Academia in Foreign Policymaking: International Practices and Perspectives as Lessons for Namibia

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-233
Author(s):  
Peya Mushelenga
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Ir Studies ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Policy Making Process

Academics for international relations (IR) studies as an academic discipline have over the years contributed to the process of foreign policymaking. Their contribution has been made through research and publications and providing advisory services to policymakers. Other platforms existing for academics are platforms for debates on foreign policy and providing training to foreign policymakers. The article discusses international experiences and perspectives, from all geographic regions, covering large states of the UN Security Council, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and at least one small state from each geographic region. The lecture analyses the gaps existing between academics and foreign policymakers and explores methods that can be adopted to close the gaps and create a working relationship between the two stakeholders, with a view to make positive contributions to the making of foreign policy. It highlights the challenges facing academics in making an impact on foreign policy and the approach of foreign policymakers to the contribution by academics. The article propounds that, generally, academics are more influential in large states’ foreign policy-making process, compared to small states where the process of foreign policymaking includes a few stakeholders. Further, the appointment of policymakers from the academia background impacts on inclination to the role of the academia in foreign policymaking. There are no many platforms where debates on Namibia’s foreign policy are held and a limited number of Namibian academics play a role on foreign policymaking. The article provides a framework of best practices as lessons for Namibian academics and foreign policymakers.

Domestic Sources of Foreign Policy Change: Kyrgyzstan’s U-Turns on the U.S. Air Base at Manas Airport

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-202
Author(s):  
Shairbek Dzhuraev
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Foreign Policy Change ◽  
External Incentives ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Mainstream theories of international relations explain the foreign policies of small states based on the function of external incentives and pressures. This article challenges such explanations and analyzes Kyrgyzstan’s decisions concerning the U.S. air base at Manas between 2005 and 2010, which was a curious case of risk-taking in foreign policy by a small state. Applying a framework of “ideas, interests and institutions,” the article shows how changes in Kyrgyzstan’s foreign policy reflected a shift in the domestic context of policymaking.

Learning to assert themselves: Small states in asymmetrical dyads – two Scandinavian dogs barking at the Russian bear

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Mellander ◽  
Hans Mouritzen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Action Space ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
The Past

By measuring foreign policy assertion, we document that Danish and Swedish Russia policies have fluctuated widely in the 21st century, as well as in relation to each other. Specifically, big assertion leaps took place in 2002 (Denmark) and 2008 (Sweden). Having conceptualised and operationalised small state assertion, we proceed to the explanation of these leaps. The same factor turns out to be the efficient explanation in both cases: an individual policy-maker’s so-called ‘lesson of the past’ – what he believes ‘history teaches us’. It is shown how existing theory of lessons of the past can contribute to the understanding of small state assertion in asymmetrical dyads, but only if the proper permissive circumstances are identified. First and foremost these amount to the presence of a reasonable foreign policy action space.

Small states as aid donors

1980 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Stephen Hoadley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Theory ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Foreign Policies

While debate continues on whether the foreign policies of small states are1 or are or not generically different from those of large states, little has been written explicitly about the association of size of donors with the quality of their foreign aid. This essay hypothesizes that the aid policies of small states will differ from those of large states in ways that may be measured empirically, just as Plischke, East, Sawyer, and Hermann have demonstrated with quantitative data that the general foreign policy behavior of small states varies significantly from that of large ones. More particularly, it is hypothesized that small states give higher quality aid, and give it relatively more generously, than large states. This hypothesis is grounded on general impressions—Sweden is widely acknowledged as a “good” donor and the United States an indifferent one—and on extrapolations from small state theory that will be sketched below.

scholarly journals Small State Foreign Policy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sverrir Steinsson ◽  
Baldur Thorhallsson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Transaction Costs ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
State Security ◽  
Foreign Policies

Size matters in international relations. Owing to their unique vulnerabilities, small states have different needs, adopt different foreign policies, and have a harder time achieving favorable foreign policy outcomes than large states. Small states show a preference for multilateral organizations because they reduce the power asymmetry between states, decrease the transaction costs of diplomacy, and impose constraints on large states. Small state security policies vary widely depending on domestic and international conditions. Despite the inherent disadvantages to being small, small states can compensate for the limitations of their size and exert influence on world politics, provided that they use the appropriate strategies.

scholarly journals Small State Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baldur Thorhallsson ◽  
Sverrir Steinsson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Transaction Costs ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
State Security ◽  
Foreign Policies

Size matters in international relations. Owing to their unique vulnerabilities, small states have different needs, adopt different foreign policies, and have a harder time achieving favorable foreign policy outcomes than large states. Small states show a preference for multilateral organizations because they reduce the power asymmetry between states, decrease the transaction costs of diplomacy, and impose constraints on large states. Small state security policies vary widely depending on domestic and international conditions. Despite the inherent disadvantages to being small, small states can compensate for the limitations of their size and exert influence on world politics, provided that they use the appropriate strategies.

Small-State Aspirations to Middlepowerhood

2020 ◽  
pp. 157-182
Author(s):  
Robert Mason
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Tipping Point ◽  
Small States ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Small State ◽  
State Classification

This chapter argues that small states such as Qatar and the UAE can break the mold of small-state classification, but that the tipping point to middlepowerhood for Qatar came and went during the Morsi presidency in Egypt. Furthermore, as a result of the backlash against an active and interventionist Qatari foreign policy, it could yet become an outlying state on the fringes of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The UAE is found to be approaching a “tipping point” to middlepowerhood due to a combination of factors that are generally enhancing its influence in international affairs.

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