Introduction: the foreign policy power of small states

Chong, Alan; Maass, Matthias

doi:10.1080/09557571.2010.505131

Cited by 25 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…1 Second, as noted before, the foreign policy perspective helps to move the discussion of power away from the system level while still taking into account the implications of system changes. Chong and Maass (2010) maintain quite rightly that 'foreign policy power' emphasizes multiple possibilities in terms of the type of instruments used, in particular the use of 'soft' power as much as 'hard' power. Clearly, small state power is less likely to be built on a military than on an economic foundation and/or on normative considerations.…”

Section: The Notion Of Small-state Powermentioning

confidence: 95%

Opportunities and limitations of the exercise of foreign policy power by a very small state: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Braveboy-Wagner

2010

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

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The idea that a microstate such as Trinidad and Tobago can possess and use 'power,' a trait generally associated with a high level of military and economic capability, would appear to a traditional realist to be absurd. This is largely because power is still seen as exercised at the global systemic level or at regional levels that are globally significant. However, small states generally focus their foreign policies on smaller circles, primarily neighbours and dominant bilateral partners. By moving the power analysis (back) to the state (foreign policy) level, extending the definition of 'power' to include status ('position') and actual attempts to get others to adopt an influencer's preferences, and employing the newer views of power as soft and smart, this article argues that even very small states can exercise power within limited domains as long as they possess certain capabilities (in this case, energy resources) and are ready to seize available opportunities. The evidence shows, however, that the results of these attempts are still mixed, limited primarily by perceptual constraints on the part of both the small-state influencer and the target influencee.

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Section: The Notion Of Small-state Powermentioning

confidence: 95%

Opportunities and limitations of the exercise of foreign policy power by a very small state: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Braveboy-Wagner

2010

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

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“…International action is often divided and disdained by powerful states. However, despite their weak material properties, SIDS seem to have found their way through international climate negotiations (see Bishop, 2012;Chong & Maass, 2010;Harris, 2009;Hey, 2003;Lee & Smith, 2010;Panke, 2012;Simpson, 2006;UN-OHRLLS, 2011). In this respect, foreign policy responses of SIDS to international action against climate change present a case to reorganize theoretical approaches in IR and foreign policy.…”

Section: The Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Small Islands in UN Climate Negotiations: A Constructivist Viewpoint

Rasheed

2019

International Studies

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This article is about small island developing states (SIDS) and their role in the United Nations (UN) climate negotiations. It presents a discussion about how a constructivist model of foreign policy analysis and international system design can be used to explain the impact of climate ideas of SIDS on UN climate system. The SIDS have been in the UN climate negotiations since the 1980s, committed to a climate agenda with clear ideas about the challenges they face and the type of solutions they seek from the international policy community. In this respect, this article seeks to explain that climate ideas shared among SIDS have established an intersubjective understanding to promote a compelling common voice at international climate negotiations, which is based on an island vulnerability identity. These ideas have shaped the policy thinking and interests of climate negotiators to design institutional frameworks that have given special consideration to SIDS. It concludes that this observation represents a disproportionate impact of SIDS. Despite the weak material powers for being small islands, their climate agenda has influenced the UN system design to address their concerns.

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“…6 Thus, East Asian experiences can enrich thinking about the conditions under which small states exercise leverage over stronger states, and could be usefully compared with the extant literature on smaller states in the European Union (EU). It is interesting to note that a recent special section on small state power in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs is edited by East Asia IR specialists (Chong & Maass 2010).…”

Section: Structural Theories Of Conflict and International Ordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

What (If Anything) Does East Asia Tell Us About International Relations Theory?

Johnston

2012

Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci.

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Transatlantic international relations (IR) theory has more or less neglected the international relations of East Asia. This relative neglect has come in different forms: excluding East Asian cases from analysis, including East Asian cases but miscoding or misunderstanding them, or including them but missing the fact that they do not confirm the main findings of the study. A review of the East Asia-related literature on three important clusters of theorizing-structural theories of conflict, institutional design and efficacy, and historical memory-suggests that this neglect of the region (and other regions) may come at a cost to transatlantic IR, not only in terms of data problems but also in terms of omitted or downplayed explanatory variables and theoretical arguments.

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Introduction: the foreign policy power of small states

Cited by 25 publications

References 3 publications

Opportunities and limitations of the exercise of foreign policy power by a very small state: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Opportunities and limitations of the exercise of foreign policy power by a very small state: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Role of Small Islands in UN Climate Negotiations: A Constructivist Viewpoint

What (If Anything) Does East Asia Tell Us About International Relations Theory?

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