Afterword: Vulnerability as a Condition, Resilience as a Strategy

Abstract

As this book amply shows, small states continue to interest us, but they also continue to puzzle us. We know that more small states exist than ever before and that most seem to survive while some indeed do prosper. But we also know that there is still no agreed definition of what constitutes a small state and certainly no sharp dichotomy between a small and a large state. It may actually be the case that no firm category of analysis will ever be carved out in this field of study. Even if this is so, it does not mean of course that we should abandon the study of how seemingly small states behave in different spheres of action and at different times. In fact, we need to recognise the multiple natures of the small state phenomenon and focus on their variations in practice. This book, thus, does well to address the ‘diplomacies’ of small states, for there is no typical or characteristic diplomacy of a small state to identify and explain.