Small States and their Margins for Manoeuvre

Course goals

Upon completing the course, you will have

• acquired knowledge about different approaches of small states’ strategies and its historiography;
• acquired knowledge about the theories that have been developed to explain the behaviour of small states in international relations; 
• learned to apply your knowledge and theoretical understanding to a specific historical case study based on a sample of primary and secondary sources.

Content

Within the course, we approach international relations from the perspective of smaller states. On the one hand, we focus on case studies based on archival research. Experts explain about their research on small states’ strategies to pursue their own interests during the Cold War. This will enable us to compare between the goals and strategies of these small powers. On the other hand, we will dive into theories concerning the international behaviour of small states. We will search for answers to questions on the agency of small states in the international arena, like: What different strategies to maintain independence and pursue interests do we encounter? Is there a specific small state foreign policy behaviour?
 

Additional information

This course is part of the minor International Relations.