A Small State's Guide to Influence in World Politics

Theoretically innovative and empirically expansive, A Small State''s Guide to Influence in World Politics sets out to become the new authority for the study of small states in International Relations (IR). The book''s explanatory approach allows for a comparison of small states'' situations and relationships across a global selection of some twenty cases in issues of international security, economy, and institutions. In doing so, it shows how IR''s longstanding neglect of small states is a missed opportunity--not just for understanding small states but for developing better theories of IR.

A complete guide for how small states can be strikingly successful and influential--if they assess their situations and adapt their strategies.Small states are crucial actors in world politics. Yet, they have been relegated to a second tier of International Relations scholarship. In A Small State''s Guide to Influence in World Politics, Tom Long shows how small states can identify opportunities and shape effective strategies to achieve their foreign policy goals. To do so, Long puts small states'' relationships at the center of his approach. Although small states are defined by their position as materially weaker actors vis-a-vis large states, Long argues that this condition does not condemn them to impotence or irrelevance. Drawing on typological theory, Long builds an explanation of when and how small states might achieve their goals. The book assesses a global range of cases-both successes and failures-and offers a set of tools for scholars and policymakers to understand how varying international conditions shape small states'' opportunities for influence.