Suchergebnisse

This issue of the Jounral introduces the first of what the editors hope will be a regular series of synoposia on industrial relations topics of special relevance to our predominantly New Zealand readers, but also to those abroad. The first topic "Industrial relations in smaller countries" was chosen because the editors hoped that it would allow a comparison of how some smaller countries have developed their industrial relations systems to cope with the problems that small size creates. The four countries represented: Austria, NorWay, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland are all apparently similar to New Zealand in certain obvious aspects. These include their small populations, a high percentage of G.D.P. involved in foreign trade and the fact that they all are developed, western, democratic societies with a high standard of living.

Corbett, Yi-chong and Weller's impressive new volume examines why and how small states act through International Organizations (IOs), despite their limited resources, and why and how IO secretariats seek to involve small states. In Chapter 2, the authors argue that small states emphasize (or perform) their vulnerability to create a niche role in international institutions, draw other actors' attention to their needs, and ultimately make a difference in IOs. Competently performing vulnerability involves three strategies: rhetorical action, collaboration, and active participation in IOs. In Chapter 3, the authors contend that IO secretariats, meanwhile, are compelled to engage small states and strive to increase these states' effectiveness in multilateralism to maintain the IO's "throughput legitimacy" (balancing input and output legitimacy) as a global actor. [excerpt] ; N/A

This book creatively examines the interaction of two sets of units that have proliferated during the liberal international order (LIO) that has been in place largely since the end of World War II: small states (SSs) and international organisations (IOs). The authors argue convincingly that the visibility and success of small states in international relations has been significantly due to their engagement in IOs, singly and collectively. To expound on the latter, the authors select the small island developing states (SIDS) grouping established at the UN, and its variants established in other IOs such as the IMO, World Bank, WHO, WIPO and WTO, looking at how actors from SIDS engage with such IOs, in spite of obvious human, material and financial limitations. [excerpt] ; N/A

The three reviews of this book appearing here were presented at its launch, held at the Centre for Small State Studies, Queen Mary's University of London, UK, on 18th October 2018. ; The book provides a thorough analysis of a neglected field in political science, small state studies and international relations. I purposefully include international relations due to the wide scope of this research encompassing all parts of the world. This book is theoretically rich. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the established literature and use it to examine their cases. At the same time, they engage in theory-building. I would also argue that the book is radical. It offers a powerful challenge to the existing precepts of democratisation theory. The authors do so by arguing that small states are exceptional and that is not enough to study or collect information about formal institutional setups and rules. They challenge the standard theoretical explanations that economic growth, cultural diversity, colonial legacy and institutional design, the presence of an institutionalized party system and geographic location have explanatory power when it comes to explaining why small states are more democratic than large states. These variables, according to the authors, explain neither the democratic successes nor failures, according to the findings. ; N/A

Intro -- Contents -- Introduction: Lilliputians in Gulliver's World? -- Part I: Defining Contributions to the Literature -- 1. The Power of Small States: Diplomacy in World War II -- 2. Lilliputians' Dilemmas: Small States in International Politics -- 3. The Inequality of States: A Study of the Small Power in International Relations -- 4. Micro-states: The Principality of Liechtenstein -- Part II: Refining the Small State Debate -- 5. Weak States in the International System -- 6. Small States in World Markets: Industrial Policy in Europe -- 7. The Role of Small States in the European Union -- Part III: Small State Capacity in International Relations -- 8. Learning, Realism, and Alliances: The Weight of the Shadow of the Past -- 9. Norm Entrepreneurs: Scandinavia's Role in World Politics -- Conclusion: Learning from Lilliput -- Annotated Bibliography -- Contributors -- Index.

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] ; N/A