Overview

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.

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9780190926205

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Reviews

Tom Long's A Small State's Guide to Influence in World Politics is a trail-blazing effort to build new theory in the discipline of small state studies — as persuasive in its conceptual development as it is dazzling in the genuine internationalism of its case studies ... the rich theorisation in this book is a watershed moment that has significantly advanced our theoretical study of the strategies of small states. * Hillary Briffa, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy * Building on his seminal 2015 work, Latin America Confronts the United States, Long persuasively presses his case that smaller states, with creative leadership, can often successfully defend their national interests in contests with bigger ones. * Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs * Long persuasively presses his case that smaller states, with creative leadership, can often successfully defend their national interests in contests with bigger ones. He urges his scholarly colleagues to redefine international relations studies by stretching beyond the interactions of great powers to focus on the many smaller states that light up the geopolitical firmament. * Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs * [A]gainst the aims it sets for itself - to outline and demonstrate the significance of a relational approach to the study of small states that starts from the position of asymmetry and is global in coverage - A Small State's Guide to Influence in World Politics succeeds remarkably. It should be warmly received and become a touchstone text for anybody interested in how the majority of the world's states engage in international affairs. * Prof. Jack Corbett, The Round Table * Tom Long has written an invaluable primer for policy makers and diplomats in small states and scholars of International Relations. He offers a new methodological approach to navigating the asymmetries of inter-state relations, based on exhaustive research, a fairly comprehensive bibliography and a wide-ranging examination 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 * Written with clarity and rigour, this is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand how and why small states fail or succeed in world politics. * Anders Wivel, Professor of International Relations, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen * Based on IR theory and grounded in small states scholarship, this book provides an innovative integrated account of small states strategies to deal with constraints and opportunities they face in world politics. The comprehensive theoretical argument is illustrated by a series of compelling short case studies. This timely book is a must-read for scholars and practitioners alike. * Diana Panke, Chair of Multi-level Governance, University of Freiburg (Germany) * 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 * The book defines, theorizes and investigates small states in the context of these unequal relationships, between a small state and a great power...the book is essential reading for those interested in small states and political power. * Sarina Theys, International Affairs *

Written with clarity and rigour, this is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand how and why small states fail or succeed in world politics. -Anders Wivel, Professor of International Relations, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen Based on IR theory and grounded in small states scholarship, this book provides an innovative integrated account of small states strategies to deal with constraints and opportunities they face in world politics. The comprehensive theoretical argument is illustrated by a series of compelling short case studies. This timely book is a must-read for scholars and practitioners alike. -Diana Panke, Chair of Multi-level Governance, University of Freiburg (Germany) 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

Author Information

Tom Long is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics & International Studies at the University of Warwick. Tom's research focuses on the dynamics of asymmetry, small states, and the international relations of the Americas. He is the author of Latin America Confronts the United States: Asymmetry and Influence. His work also appears in leading journals including International Security, World Politics, International Affairs, Perspectives on Politics, and International Studies Review. Since completing his PhD at American University in 2013, Tom's research has been supported by about $400,000 of grants and fellowships from bodies including the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, British Academy, and British Council. He was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile. Before joining Warwick, Tom taught at the University of Reading, American University, and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, where he remains an affiliated professor in international studies.

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