Table Of ContentAdvance Praise for A Small State’s Guide
to Influence in World Politics
“Tom Long has written an invaluable primer for policymakers and diplomats in
small states and scholars of International Relations. He offers a new methodo-
logical approach to navigating the asymmetries of inter-state relations, based on
exhaustive research, a fairly comprehensive bibliography, and a wide-ranging ex-
amination of relevant case studies. From a Caribbean perspective, I would have
preferred that he had referenced the writings of Shridath Ramphal and Ronald
Sanders, but this should not detract from the quality of his research, which is a
major contribution to small state diplomacy and IR theory.”
Riyad Insanally,
Former Ambassador of Guyana to the USA and
the Organization of American States
“Most books on small states tend to detail a particular issue or the external
behavior of states in one region. This book is a remarkable attempt to go beyond
this by analyzing the entire spectrum of small states—European as well as in
the developing world. Long does this by formulating a detailed pre-theoretical
framework through which small state influence attempts can be impartially
assessed. The book is notable for both its attention to careful theorizing, as
well as the breadth of cases drawn on in support of the author’s thesis. Anyone
interested in the security and economic behavior of small states will find much
to ponder theoretically, and much to draw on descriptively. This book is an
important addition to the small state literature, and it deserves to be widely
read.”
—Jacqueline-Braveboy-Wagner,
City University of New York
BRIDGING THE GAP
Series Editors
James Goldgeier
Bruce Jentleson
Steven Weber
The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy:
Why Strategic Superiority Matters
Matthew Kroenig
Planning to Fail:
The US Wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan
James H. Lebovic
War and Chance:
Assessing Uncertainty in International Politics
Jeffrey A. Friedman
Delaying Doomsday:
The Politics of Nuclear Reversal
Rupal N. Mehta
Delta Democracy:
Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond
Catherine E. Herrold
Adaptation under Fire:
How Militaries Change in Wartime
David Barno and Nora Bensahel
The Long Game:
China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order
Rush Doshi
A Small State's Guide to Influence in World Politics
Tom Long
A Small State’s Guide to
Influence in World
Politics
TOM LONG
1
3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2022
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address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021950184
ISBN 978– 0– 19– 092621– 2 (pbk.)
ISBN 978– 0– 19– 092620– 5 (hbk.)
DOI: 10.1093/ oso/ 9780190926205.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Paperback printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1. Introduction 1
Who are you calling small? 5
Small states in history 6
Material views 9
Ideational views 11
Relational views 13
Organization and conclusions 15
2. Small States, Big World 17
Small states in International Relations theory 17
Setting the scene: Asymmetrical theory and international context 22
Great- power politics 23
Institutionalization 29
Economic governance 32
Normative environment 35
Structures, relations, and small states today 37
3. Opportunities and Constraints: Conditions for Success 39
Small- state characteristics and relationships 41
Internal factors 43
External factors 45
Asymmetrical international relationships 46
Typological theory and the conditions for relational influence 49
Bilateral asymmetrical relationships and international context 57
4. Playing Small Ball: Strategies for Success 60
Small states’ sources of power 60
Particular- intrinsic 62
Derivative 63
C ollective 64
Cases and strategies 66
Type 1 (red): Patience and perseverance 68
Type 2 (orange): Problem redefinition 69
Type 3 (yellow): Agenda setting for salience 70
Type 4 (green): Finding mutual benefits 71
vi Contents
Type 5 (blue): Extraversion 73
Type 6 (violet): Agenda setting and new alternatives 75
Types 7 (white) and 8 (grey): Maintaining the status quo 76
Applying the theory: Case selection and methods 77
Case selection and methods 77
5. Small- State Security 80
Africa: Asymmetry and security diversification 81
Success: Djibouti finds new partners 81
Failure: Gabon deepens dependence 84
Americas: Bases and bargains 88
Success: El Salvador gains benefits and action space 89
Failure: Honduras’s declining benefits at a higher cost 92
Asia: Managing change in the Himalayas 94
Success: Bhutan benefits from alignment 95
Failure: Nepal—A rms, embargos, and asymmetry 99
Europe: Autonomy at geopolitical crossroads 102
Success: Estonia between Russia and the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization 103
Failure: Moldova between Russia and Europe 106
Conclusions 110
6. Small States in a Global Economy 112
Africa 113
Success: Rwandan aid and autonomy 114
Failure: Aid and policy dependency in Zambia 118
Americas 121
Success: Bolivia, Brazil, and gas 122
Failure: Paraguay, Brazil, and Itaipú 126
Asia 129
Success: Malaysia and the Belt and Road Initiative 130
Failure: Myanmar and the Belt and Road Initiative 132
Europe 135
Success: Portugal leans into the euro crisis 136
Failure: The eurozone’s Greek tragedy 139
Conclusions 143
7. Institutions, Law, and Norms 144
Case 1: Climate and environment 145
Case 2: Human rights 151
Case 3: Regional organizations 157
Case 4: Global public health 163
Conclusions 168
Contents vii
8. Conclusion 170
Comparing types and cases 171
Comparing issue areas 175
Policy applications 178
Findings and implications 179
Appendix 183
Bibliography 185
Index 223
Acknowledgments
In autumn 2015, brimming with enthusiasm after the publication of my first
book and the submission of several articles on small states, I suggested this book
for the newly created Bridging the Gap series at Oxford University Press. The
pitch was for a book of somewhat outlandish breadth, with the aim of saying
something meaningful about the international relations of the majority of the
world’s states. Even more audaciously, I suggested that a book on the often- mar-
ginalized topic of small states would offer something for students and scholars
of International Relations as well as to policymakers in those many, and diverse,
countries. I was fortunate that the audience for that first pitch was Jim Goldgeier,
professor, dean, and series editor. Without Jim’s encouragement, interest, and
questions, this book probably would not have been written— and certainly not
in its current form. More generally, Jim deserves recognition and appreciation
for his dedication to helping early career scholars, myself included, find paths in
academia and beyond.
This book aims to cover an immense topic: the international relations of small
states across the world, through several decades, and across multiple issue-a reas.
To try to grasp such a broad subject matter, I have benefited from—a nd thor-
oughly enjoyed— the work of hundreds of scholars who have written about small
states, regional dynamics, and the politics and foreign policies of countries that
are often overlooked in the so- called “mainstream” of International Relations.
Delving into this disparate and diverse literature has been a reminder of the
quality, breadth, and vibrancy of research that began quietly constituting “Global
International Relations” well before the term was en vogue.
I owe a particular debt of gratitude to several scholars who shared insights and
read substantial portions of this early manuscript. For thoughtful comments on
early draft chapters, I thank Godfrey Baldacchino, Jacqueline Braveboy- Wagner,
Alan Chong, Jack Corbett, Kristin Haugevik, Neal Jesse, Sverrir Steinsson, and
Anders Wivel. Several scholars generously responded to my out- of- the- blue
emails to share their thoughts and expertise, including Sebastián Bitar, Mahima
Duggal, Harsh Pant, David Styan, Haley Swedlund, Christos Vrakopoulos, and
Susan Wing. Conversations and correspondence with Brantly Womack were
tremendously helpful and encouraging; my own approach to small states and
International Relations (IR) owes him a considerable intellectual debt. Parts of
this book have been presented in a multitude of venues, including the annual
