Description

Building on established theory and data, Hanna Samir Kassab seeks to explain why weak states exist within the international system. Kassab analyzes weak state behavior and subsequent changes in great power grand strategy to argue that states which are weak and vulnerable can practice an unexpected degree of autonomy unfettered by great powers. Given systemic vulnerability stemming from underdevelopment, these weak states pursue welfare in order to survive; security is a secondary concern. Such non-threatening behavior allows weak states to conduct business with great powers at opposite ends of the balance of power, leading these powers to compete over small state support, especially within forums of global governance. The cases of Armenia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Lebanon, and Cambodia in this book illustrate the explanatory power of this progressive theory in international relations.