Özlem Tür

My paper aims to analyze the impact of the international system on the foreign policies of small states. While small states are often considered to have not much choice but to bandwagon with the great powers, this paper will try to understand how the systemic dynamics affect their behaviour. By taking Lemke’s multiple hierarchy model, based on power transition theory, it will try to bring the concepts of satisfaction/dissatisfaction and parity/preponderance into the discussion of small states’ relations with the dominant power and other regional small states. It will try to show when small states choose to cooperate (when they are satisfied and faced with preponderance) and when they can be expected to decide to be in conflict and possibly go to war (when they are dissatisfied and in parity). The paper will try to show the impact of institutions and alliances on small states, and discuss the cases that do not fit, are dissatisfied but weak and are still in defiance of the dominant powers.