Book review : Handbook on the politics of small states [Dookeran]

Abstract

Small states are on the edge of the fault lines of the ripples and shake-up of the liberal order, which was the anchor to multilateralism, influence in global institutions, and the free flow of goods, capital and data. In this post-hegemonic cycle of international relations, geo-strategic choices facing small states are blurred, and diplomacy must be practised during a period of flux in power relations and a changing political geography among nations. This trend has been accentuated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, changing the development and political landscapes more dramatically, as well as shifting the geo-strategic options open to all countries, but extremely limited to small states. The pandemic is a political stress test for small countries: those who can reset will survive, as the premises of the realm of public policy are shaken in the world order of things. [excerpt]