Manchester University Press
1 Introducing small state survival as a historical phenomenon
Abstract
In a states system shaped by power politics and dominated by great powers, the survival and especially the proliferation of small states is a remarkable phenomenon. The analysis of the small state's centuries-old struggle to survive may lead to a renewed appreciation of security as an analytical concept. Annette Baker Fox, Michael Handel, David Vital, and Robert Rothstein advanced the agenda on small state survival early on. Fox's research centered on how "governments of small and military weak states can resist the strong pressure of great powers." This chapter presents some key concepts discussed in this book. The book investigates the era of the classic balance of power which began after the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 and ended during the French Revolutionary Wars and the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Abstract
In a states system shaped by power politics and dominated by great powers, the survival and especially the proliferation of small states is a remarkable phenomenon. The analysis of the small state's centuries-old struggle to survive may lead to a renewed appreciation of security as an analytical concept. Annette Baker Fox, Michael Handel, David Vital, and Robert Rothstein advanced the agenda on small state survival early on. Fox's research centered on how "governments of small and military weak states can resist the strong pressure of great powers." This chapter presents some key concepts discussed in this book. The book investigates the era of the classic balance of power which began after the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 and ended during the French Revolutionary Wars and the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures viii
- Acknowledgments ix
- 1 Introducing small state survival as a historical phenomenon 1
- 2 Defining and quantifying the small state 18
- 3 Power politics and small state survival 45
- 4 Small state survival in a system of collective hegemony 90
- 5 Small state survival and proliferation in twentieth-century systems of collective security and global governance, 1919–2016 139
- 6 The story of small state survival 220
- Bibliography 236
- Index 259
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures viii
- Acknowledgments ix
- 1 Introducing small state survival as a historical phenomenon 1
- 2 Defining and quantifying the small state 18
- 3 Power politics and small state survival 45
- 4 Small state survival in a system of collective hegemony 90
- 5 Small state survival and proliferation in twentieth-century systems of collective security and global governance, 1919–2016 139
- 6 The story of small state survival 220
- Bibliography 236
- Index 259
