Course Syllabus and Slides
Is smaller better for peace and prosperity? This course explores the blessings and perils of state size across four themes: Development, Commerce, International Organizations and War. It grounds this exploration with insights on the political and economic consequences of size from ancient (Thucydides) and contemporary (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) thinkers, as well as work in economics, political science and history.
The course's goals are three-fold: First, to expose students to prevailing and competing theories on how small (and big) states behave in domestic and international affairs. Second, to strengthen students’ capacity to critically engage with these theories. Finally, to learn about small states across time and space.
Books
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Gerring, John, and Wouter Veenendaal. Population and politics: The impact of scale. Cambridge University Press, 2020.
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Herbst, Jeffrey. States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control. Princeton University Press, 2014.
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Jesse, Neal G., and John R. Dreyer. Small States in the International System: At Peace and at War. Lexington Books, 2016.
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Katzenstein, Peter. Small States in World Markets: Industrial Policy in Europe. Cornell University Press, 1985.
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Long, Tom. A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics. Oxford University Press, 2022.
Week 1
What is a small state? Why should we care?
A. Introduction
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Veenendaal and Corbett. 2015. Why small states offer important answers to large questions. Comparative Political Studies. Only Pg.528 – 532.
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Mahbubani, Kishore. 2017. “Qatar: Big lessons from a small country.” The Straits Times.
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Kausikan, Bilahari. 2018. “Why Small Countries Should Not Behave Like A Small Country." Para Limes.
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Ng, Sarah. 2022. “Existential Crisis for tiny state’: S’pore UN ambassador on sovereignty at UN meeting on Ukraine.” The Straits Times. Read article and listen to Ambassador Gafoor’s speech.
B. What are small states? Why do they matter for politics?
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Gerring and Veenendaal, 2020. Population and Politics. Chapter 1: Scaling the Political World.
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Thorhallsoon, Baldur. 2018. “Studying small states: A review.” Small States & Territories, Vol 1, No 1, pp. 17 – 34.
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Long, Tom. 2022. A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics. Introduction. Pp. 1 – 15.
Part I: Small States and Domestic Politics
Week 2
State Size and Prosperity
A. The Perils of Geography
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Herbst. 2000. States and Power in Africa (Chapters: Introduction, 1, 2) (pg. 1 – 57)
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World Bank Group. 2016. World Bank Engagement with Small States: Taking Stock. (Executive Summary, Chapter 1, Chapter 2; pg. ix – 24).
B. Is Smaller Better for Economic Development?
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Herbst. 2000. States and Power in Africa (Chapter 5) (pg. 139 – 172)
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Easterly, William and Kraay (2000). Small states, small problems? Income, growth, and volatility in small states. World Development 28 (11): 2013 – 2027.
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Mazzuca, Sebastian. 2021. Latecomer State Formation - Political Geography and Capacity Failure in Latin America. Introduction (1 – 46)
Week 3
Size and Governance
A. The Decentralization Debate
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Veenendaal and Corbett. 2015. Why small states offer important answers to large questions. Comparative Political Studies. Only Pg.537 – 543 (Example 2).
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Post, Alison and Nicholas Kuipers. 2022. City size and public service access: evidence from Brazil and Indonesia. Perspective on Politics.
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Dell, Melissa, Nathan Lane, and Pablo Querubin. "The historical state, local collective action, and economic development in Vietnam." Econometrica 86, no. 6 (2018): 2083-2121.
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Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. 2013. Anti-Fragile: Things that gain from Disorder. “Lenin in Zurich” (pg. 85 – 90); “Small may be ugly, it is certainly less fragile” (pg. 278 – 280).
B. Size and (Good) Governance
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Jugl, Marlene. 2019. Finding the Golden Mean: Country size and the Performance of National Bureaucracies, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 118 – 132.
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Congond Fors, Heather. 2014. Do island states have better institutions? Journal of Comparative Economics. 34 – 60.
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Veenendaal, Corbett. 2020. Clientelism in small states: how smallness influences patron-client networks in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Democratization. 61 – 80.
Week 4
Size and Democracy
A. Part I
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Schmitter, Philippe C., and Terry Lynn Karl. "What democracy is... and is not." Journal of Democracy 2, no. 3 (1991): 75-88.
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Diamond, Larry, and Svetlana Tsalik. "Size and democracy: The case for decentralization." Developing democracy: Toward consolidation (1999): 117-160.
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Veenendaal and Corbett. 2015. Why small states offer important answers to large questions. Comparative Political Studies. Only Pg.532 – 537 (Example 2).
B. Part II
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Gerring and Veenendaal, 2020. Population and Politics. Chapter 5: Representativeness (pg. 108 – 131); Chapter 8: Contestation (pg. 184 – 212).
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Corbett, Jack, Wouter Veenendaal, and Lhawang Ugyel. 2017. “Why Monarchy Persists in Small States: The Cases of Tonga, Bhutan, and Liechenstein.” Democratization 24(4): 689-706.
Week 5
Size and Diversity
A. Part I
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Tham, Yuen-C. 2022. “Two-party system like those in the UK, US unlikely in Singapore, says Ong Ye Kung.” Straits Times.
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Gerring and Veenendaal, 2020. Population and Politics. Chapter 3: Cohesion (pg. 65 – 83).
B. Part II
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Chandra, Kanchan, and Steven Wilkinson. "Measuring the effect of “ethnicity”. Comparative Political Studies 41, no. 4-5 (2008): 515-563.
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Lijphart, Arend. "Consociational democracy." World Politics 21, no. 2 (1969): 207-225.
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Campbell, John L., and John A. Hall. "National identity and the political economy of small states." Review of International Political Economy 16, no. 4 (2009): 547-572.
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Mauritius Case Study
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Madhoo, Yeti Nisha, and Shyam Nath. "Ethnic diversity, development and social policy in small states." UNRISD Research Paper 2 (2013). Pages: 1 – 49.
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Week 6
Gender
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Htun, Mala. "Is gender like ethnicity? The political representation of identity groups." Perspectives on Politics 2.3 (2004): 439-458.
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Hesse-Bayne, Lebrechtta Nana Oye, and Tres-Ann Kremer. "Women and Political Parties in Five Small States of the Commonwealth Caribbean." (2018). Pages 1 – 36.
Part II: Small States and International Politics
Week 7
Climate Change
A. Domestic Politics
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Ferguson, Bernard. 2021. “Climate Change Is Destroying My Country. The Nations Causing It Must Help,” New York Times.
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Colgan, Jeff, Jessica Green, and Thomas Hale. 2020. “Asset Revaluation and the Existential Politics of Climate Change” International Organization pp: 1-25.
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Thomas, Adelle, April Baptiste, Rosanne Martyr-Koller, Patrick Pringle, and Kevon Rhiney. "Climate change and small island developing states." Annual Review of Environment and Resources 45, no. 6 (2020): 1-6
B. International Politics
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Baldacchino, Godfrey. 2017. "Seizing history: development and non-climate change in Small Island Developing States." International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management : 217 – 228.
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Deitelhoff, Nicole, and Linda Wallbott. 2012. "Beyond soft balancing: small states and coalition-building in the ICC and climate negotiations." Cambridge Review of International Affairs 25, no. 3: 345-366.
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Betzold, Carola. 2010. "Borrowing power to influence international negotiations: AOSIS in the climate change regime, 1990–1997." Politics 30, no. 3: 131-148.
Week 8
Small States in the International Arena
A. Small States in International Relations Theory (Part I)
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Jesse and Dreyer. 2016. Small States in the International System: At Peace and at War. Section I. Theory (pg. 1 – 57).
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Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, The Melian Dialogue (Book 5, Chapter 17). Translated by Richard Crawley.
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Eyal, Jonathan. 2021. Lithuania vs. China – a David and Goliath battle over weaponisation of trade. The Straits Times.
B. Small States in International Relations Theory (Part II)
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Baldacchino, G., 2009. Thucydides or Kissinger? A critical review of smaller state diplomacy. The diplomacies of small states, pp.21-40.
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Goh, Evelyn. 2007. Great Powers and Hierarchial Order in Southeast Asia: Analyzing Regional Security Strategies. International Security, Volume 32, Number 3. Pp 113 – 157.
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Walt. Stephen. 2012. The curious case of small Gulf states. Foreign Policy.
Week 9
Small States in International Organisations
A. Part I
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Suilleabhain, Andrea. Small States at the United Nations: Diverse Perspectives, Shared Opportunities. International Peace Institute. 1 – 24.
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PM Lese Hsien Loong's speech at the 30th Anniversary of the Forum of Small States (FOSS).
B. Part II
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Waltz, Susan. 2001. "Universalizing human rights: The role of small states in the construction of the universal declaration of human rights." Human Rights Quarterly 23: 44 - 72.
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Mill, John Stewart. 1859. "A few words on non-intervention," Fraser's Magazine 60.360: 766-776.
Week 10
Small States in the Shadow of Empire
A. Past
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Knapman, Bruce. 1985. Capitalism's Economic Impact in Colonial Fiji, 1874 - 1939: Development or Underdevelopment? The Journal of Pacific History. Vol 20, No. 2 (Pg. 66 – 83).
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Herbst, Jeffrey. State and Power in Africa. The Europeans and the African Problem (pp. 58 – 96).
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Immerwahr, Daniel. 2019. How to hide an Empire. Chapter 3. Everything you always wanted to know about Guano but were afraid to ask.
B. Present
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Paul, TV. 2019. When balance of power meets globalization: China, India and the small states of South Asia. Politics. Vol 39 (1). 50 – 63.
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Baruah, M. Darshana. 2022. “What Island Nations Have to Say on Indo-Pacific Geopolitics.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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Cheong, Danson. 2022. “Why small Pacific islands matter in big power rivalry.” The Straits Times.
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Cave, Damien. 2022. Why China Is Miles Ahead in a Pacific Race for Influence. New York Times.
Week 11
Small States and Trade
A. Part I
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Katzenstein, Peter. 1985. Small States in World Markets. Chapter 1 Introduction (pg. 17 – 38).
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Alesina, Alberto and Spolaore, Enrico. 2003. The Size of Nations. Introduction. (pg. 1 – 15).
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Spuryt, Hendrik. 1994. The Sovereign State and Its Competitors: An Analysis of Systems Change. Chapter 8: The Victory of the Sovereign State (pg. 153 – 180).
B. Part II
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Katzenstein, Peter. 1985. Small States in World Markets. Chapter 2. Flexible Adjustment in the Small European States (pg.39 – 79).
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Campbell, John and Hall, John. 2017. The Paradox of Vulnerability: States, Nationalism and the Financial Crisis. Chapter 1: Groundwork. (pg. 1 – 26).
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McCann, Dermot. 2001. Small States in Globalizing markets: The End of National Economic sovereignty? Journal of International Law and Politics, 34 (1), 281 – 298. (optional)
Week 12
Small States and War
A. Part I
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Jesse and Dreyer. 2016. Small States in the International System: At Peace and at War. Section III. Small States at War: The Gamut of Policy Alternatives and Outcomes (pg. 87 - 138).
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Long, Tom. 2022. A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics. Small State Security (pg. 80 – 93)
B. Part II
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Jesse and Dreyer. 2016. Small States in the International System: At Peace and at War. Section III. Small States at War: The Gamut of Policy Alternatives and Outcomes (pg. 139 - 181).
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Long, Tom. 2022. A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics. Small State Security (pg. 95 – 111)