Book review : Small countries : structures and sensibilities

Abstract

Even after the ‘constructivist turn’ in international relations, the spectre of explaining all questions of smallness in terms of material capabilities and interstate power differentials still haunts the subfield of small state studies to some extent, despite widespread acknowledgement that such explanations are ultimately unsatisfactory. This is because they tend to deprive small states of agency; which the empirical record suggests to be an invalid assumption. As anthropologists, the contributors to Small countries: Structures and sensibilities are not hampered by the intellectual legacy of pre-constructivist IR and instead ask themselves questions that are typical for their field: under which conditions do people perceive their country as ‘small’? In what ways do people attach meaning to living in a small country? How do they cope? What are the consequences of smallness in everyday lives? If they are serious about acknowledging and analysing small state agency, small states scholars would do well to grapple with these questions, too; and Small countries provides a good starting point. [excerpt]