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The majority of countries in the world are small states. Their role grew up rapidly in the period after the Second World War and especially after the end of the Cold War. In this period new themes appeared in the international relations and small states profiled on them as so-called middle powers. Development aid and cooperation or support for human security were two such a themes. The Czech Republic too could in the near future aspire to become a medium-sized power. Czech foreign policy was formed in the dynamic period after the end of the bipolar conflict of the Great Powers and the disintegration of the Czechoslovak Federation. Nevertheless, since the very beginning the Czech Republic has been able to define its clear priorities, often with reference to the historical development of Czechoslovak statehood. The euphoric period when the Czech Republic was established could be one of the reasons why the first official concept of Czech foreign policy was presented as late as 1998. These policies, and later policies since 2002, represent a combination of small state and medium-sized power strategies. The article analyses which themes could be the vehicle for transforming Czech foreign policy from that of a small state towards the policy of a middle power.

Recent years have seen a surge of scholarship on the smaller Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The five have wielded their 'smallness' in distinct, sometimes competing, ways. Some aim to transcend their smallness; others have embraced it. How can this variation inform small state scholarship? Máté Szalai's The foreign policy of smaller Gulf states is a timely and thorough book that contributes to the theorisation and evaluation of state smallness. Szalai uses a framework he terms the "complex model of size" (CMS) (p. 4) to assess the perceptual, absolute, relative, and normative forms of smallness. [excerpt] ; N/A

Available on demand as hard copy or computer file from Cornell University Library. ; Reproduction from digital master. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the type of exchange relationship that small business owners establish with their employees. In particular, this study examines how the personality trait of "conscientiousness" among small business owners relates to relational "psychological contracts," breach and violation that develop between owners and employees.Design/methodology/approach– This was a quantitative survey design conducted in Canada. Participants were 253 employees and the 50 small firm owners for whom they worked.Findings– Results indicate that owner conscientiousness was positively associated with a relational psychological contract with employees and perceived breach mediated a negative relationship between owner-rated relational contract obligations and feelings of contract violation among employees. Owner-rated relational contract obligations also mediated a negative relationship between owner conscientiousness and employee perceptions of breach and violation.Practical implications– Given the link between conscientiousness and relational contracts, small business owners who get involved in selection and training ought to present to the newly hired employees an accurate picture of their role and job requirements in order to create successful organizations. In addition, less conscientious business owners, through training, should try to develop further skills, such as goal setting and performance appraisal, in order to increase their ability to establish effective relationships (i.e. relational contracts).Originality/value– The current study is an initial attempt toward a better understanding of exchange relationships in small firms, thus strengthening the links between organizational behavior and small business research. It also contributes a quantitative perspective on issues that have typically been explored qualitatively.