Sml States in the Intl. Sys

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Small States in the International System: Starting with the work by Baker Fox in the late 1950s and until the end of the Cold War, most scholarly literature assumed that small states had their policy choices constrained due to their limited capabilities and resources. The assumption was that small states only sought survival as independent states, a real concern in the context of Cold War hostilities. From the 1970s onwards, however, work on Europe’s Nordic and Scandinavian states started to challenge this view. Following the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, and the move toward a multi-complex international system, the growing importance of international institutions and initiatives, and the rise of regional organizations (ROs) have all also led to a reassessment of the role that small states can play in global affairs. Most scholarship assumes that small states remain committed to a relatively limited number of policy goals both at home and especially abroad. Nevertheless, it also acknowledges that small states, including those in the Arab Gulf region, can undertake ambitious domestic and foreign policy programs and become leaders in a wide range of areas. This course will examine how small states have developed in their regional systems and on the international stage by undertaking an in-depth look at key issues including their traditional role approach to domestic and foreign policy issues, their more non-traditional sources of power, the ways small states build resilience and manage their resources and the options they have for achieving physical security.