Small state discourses in the international political economy

Third World Quarterly

Volumn 31, Issue 7, 2010, Pages 1091-1105

  Lee, Donna ^a   Smith, Nicola J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS; DEVELOPING WORLD; POLITICAL DISCOURSE; POLITICAL ECONOMY; STATE BUILDING; STATE ROLE; VULNERABILITY; WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION;

EID: 78649483860     PISSN: 01436597     EISSN: 13602241     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2010.518750     Document Type: Article

References (107)

1. R Higgott, 'Toward a non-hegemonic IPE: an Antipodean perspective', in C Murphy & R Tooze, The New International Political Economy, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1991, p 97.
2. D Lee, Middle Powers and Commercial Diplomacy: British Influence at the Kennedy Trade Round, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999.
3. IB Neumann & S Gstohl, 'Introduction: Lilliputians in Gulliver's world?', in C Ingebritsen, I Neumann, S Gstohl & J Beyer, Small States in International Relations, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2006.
4. This, of course, is not to suggest that other discourses of smallness are not being articulated. For example, it is possible to identify what might be termed a 'have done' discourse, in that some small states have been keen to present themselves as models for other countries to follow (as in 'look what we have done!'). Think, for instance, of the way in which Irish policy makers have used discourses surrounding the 'Celtic tiger' as a means to gain a stronger voice in European and international policy. But it is interesting that even Ireland-and indeed, even the Nordic social democratic states such as Sweden-also appear to have internalised (at least to an extent) the 'can't do' discourses (ie that there is 'no alternative' than to embrace progressive neoliberalism).
5. See N Smith, Showcasing Globalisation? The Political Economy of the Irish Republic, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005
6. C Hay, 'Common trajectories, variable paces, divergent outcomes? Models of European capitalism under conditions of complex economic interdependence', Review of International Studies, 11(2), 2004, pp 509-31.
7. AM Bissessar (ed), Globalisation and Governance: Essays on the Challenges for Small States, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2004
8. C Ingebritsen & et al, Small States in International Relations
9. A Bergman-Rosamond, Non-Great Powers in International Politics: The English School and Nordic Internationalism, London: Routledge, 2010
10. A Wivel, B Thorhallsson & R Steinmetz, Small States in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities, Farnham: Ashgate, 2010.
11. Neumann & Gstohl, 'Introduction'. As Joenniemi writes: 'the concept of small states... remains largely anchored in a traditional discourse, with "small" being pitted against "large", this division then being used as a departure in various endeavours to catch essential patterns in the interaction among states'. P Joenniemi, 'From small to smart: reflections on the concept of small states', Irish Studies in International Affairs, 9, 1998, p 61.
12. P Baehr, 'Small states: a tool for analysis', World Politics, 27(3), 1975, pp 456-66
13. MW Mosser, 'Engineering influence: the subtle power of small states in the CSCE/OSCE', in E Reiter & H Gartner (eds), Small States and Alliances, New York: Physica-Verlag, 2001.
14. These different thresholds have been used respectively by GA Pirotta, R Wettenhall & L Briguglio, 'Governance of small jurisdictions', Public Organisation Review, 1(2), 2001, pp 149-65
15. HW Armstrong and R Read,'Tradeandgrowthinsmallstates:theimpactofglobaltradeliberalisation',inPLloyd&C Milner,The World Economy: Global Trade Policy 1998, Oxford: Blackwell, 1998
16. R Pace, 'Malta and EU membership: overcoming "vulnerabilities", strengthening "resilience"', European Integration, 28(1),2006, pp 33-49.
17. T Crowards, 'Defining the category of "small" states', Journal of International Development, 14(2), 2002, pp 143-179.
18. Mosser, 'Engineering influence'.
19. N Nugent, 'Cyprus and the European Union: the significance of its smallness, both as an applicant and a member', European Integration, 28(1), 2006, pp 51-71.
20. Baehr, 'Small states'.
21. J Alford, 'Security dilemmas of small states', The World Today, 40(8-9), 1984, pp 363-69
22. S Harden (ed), Small Is Dangerous: Micro States in a Macro World, New York: St Martin's Press, 1985
23. L Briguglio, 'Small island developing states and their economic vulnerabilities', World Development, 23(9),1995, pp 1615-1632
24. C Easter, 'Small states development: a Commonwealth vulnerability index', The Round Table, 351 (1), 1999, pp 403-422
25. P Sutton, 'Small states and the Commonwealth', Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 39(3), 2001, pp 75-94
26. M Lee, 'The small state enlargement of the EU: dangers and benefits', Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 5(2), 2004, pp 331-355
27. A Payne, 'Small states in the global politics of development', The Round Table, 93(376), 2004, pp 623-635.
28. Armstrong & Read, 'Trade and growth in small states'; R Grynberg, WTO at the Margins: Small States and the Multilateral Trading System, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006
29. A Broome & L Seabrooke, 'Seeing like the IMF: institutional change in small open economies', Review of International Political Economy, 14(4), 2007, pp 576-601
30. KP Gallagher, 'Understanding developing country resistance to the Doha Round', Review of International Political Economy, 15(1), 2008, pp 62-85
31. M Michaely, 'WTO at the margins: small states and the multilateral trading system', World Trade Review, 7(3), 2008, pp 579-84
32. R Singh & B Prasadi, 'Small states, big problems: small solutions from big countries', Journal of World Trade, 42(5), 2008, pp 905-926
33. W Vlcek, Offshore Finance and Small States: Sovereignty, Size and Money, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
34. Harden, Small is Dangerous
35. Armstrong & Read, 'Trade and growth in small states'.
36. G Garrett, Partisan Politics in the Global Economy, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000
37. J Hopkin & D Wincott, 'New Labour, economic reform and the European social model', British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 8, 2006, pp 50-68.
38. W Easterly & A Kraay, 'Small states, small problems? Income, growth and volatility in small states', World Development, 28(11), 2000, pp 2013-2037
39. RA Dahl & ER Tufte, Size and Democracy, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1973.
40. G Baldacchino & D Milne (eds), Lessons from the Political Economy of Small Islands: The Resourcefulness of Jurisdiction, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2000
41. A Handley, Business and the State in Africa: Economic Policy-making in the Neo-liberal Era, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
42. Compare, for instance, L Briguglio & E Buttigieg, 'Competition constraints in small jurisdictions', Bank of Valletta Review, 30, 2004, pp 1-13
43. SSA Aiyar, 'Small states: not handicapped and underaided, but advantaged and over-aided', CATO Journal, 28(3), 2008.
44. C Mosser, 'Engineering influence'.
45. N Smith, M Pace & D Lee, 'Size matters: small states and international studies', International Studies Perspectives, 6(3), 2005, pp ii-iii.
46. M Watson, 'International capital mobility in an era of globalisation: adding a political dimension to the "Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle"', Politics, 21(2), 2001, pp 81-92.
47. We do not wish to imply no attention at all has been devoted to discourses of smallness in the literature See, for instance, V Schmidt, 'How, where and when does discourse matter in small states' welfare state adjustment?', New Political Economy, 8(1), 2003, pp 127-46
48. C Browning, 'Small, smart and salient? Rethinking identity in the small states literature', Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 19(4), 2006, pp 669-84
49. Nevertheless, given the 'ideational turn' in comparative political economy, IPE and IR in recent years, it is perhaps surprising that so few accounts treat this as a central concern.
50. John H Jackson, cited in R Wilkinson, 'Language, power and multilateral trade negotiations', Review of International Political Economy, 16(4), 2009, pp 597-619.
51. For a discussion of how discourses reproduce 'the international as a spatial and conceptual domain... [which is] ultimately, of state identity', see L Shepherd, "'To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war": The US, UN and the violence of security', Review of International Studies, 34, 2008, pp 293-311.
52. For a discussion of the relationship between structure, agency and ideas in political analysis see C Hay, Political Analysis, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002
53. We are fully aware that not all readers will share our meta-theoretical world-view. As one commentator remarked with regard to an earlier version of this article, we should either accept that 'the discourse of smallness has been used to shed light on the material reality of smallness because it is largely "true"' (the commentator's own view) or demonstrate empirically that discourses matter more than material factors. Our view is that this overlooks how one's empirical choices are always already shaped by one's meta-theoretical choices-including how one understands the relationship between 'the material' and 'the ideational'. To put this another way, we simply do not believe that it is possible to empirically prove an answer to the question: 'If a tree falls in a forest and no-hear hears it, does it make a sound?'. With respect to the notion that the articulation of discourses itself proves the existence of inherent vulnerabilities, we thought that the following analogy might help to further explain our position (albeit in highly simplistic terms): women have historically been constructed as 'inherently' weak and vulnerable, and they have also experienced systematic structural disadvantages. Feminists have argued 1) that the two are linked but that 2) this is not because such gendered discourses simply reflect the 'reality' of women's inherent weakness but rather that 3) such discourses are themselves productive of uneven power relations. In short, we are highly suspicious of appeals to 'inherent vulnerabilities', especially when they are used to explain away structural inequalities!
54. See, for instance, Commonwealth Consultative Group on the Special Needs of Small States &Commonwealth Secretariat, Small States in the Global Society: Report of a Commonwealth Consultative Group, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 1985.
55. Commonwealth Secretariat, Development and Democracy: Report of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2003.
56. O Arthur, 'Foreword', in D Peretz, R Faruqi & EJ Kisanga, Small States in the Global Economy, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2001, p vii.
57. Small States Forum, Background Information: Progress on the Small States Task Force Report Agenda, Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund/World Bank Group, 2002, p i.
58. Commonwealth Secretariat, 'Progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the Commonwealth Secretariat/World Bank Joint Task Force Report on Small States: Meeting the Challenges in the Global Economy', London, 2002.
59. O Arthur, 'Foreword', p vii.
60. Commonwealth Secretariat/World Bank Joint Task Force on Small States, Small States: Meeting the Challenges in the Global Economy, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2000, p ii.
61. Ibid, p 5.
62. Ibid, pp ii-iii.
63. Commonwealth Secretariat, 'Progress in the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Commonwealth Secretariat/World Bank Joint Task Force Report', p 1.
64. R Grynberg & JY Remy, Small Vulnerable Economy Issues and the WTO, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2004, p 24.
65. Commonwealth Secretariat, Transforming Societies, Changing Lives: Report of the Commonwealth Secretariat, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2007, p 27.
66. Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Secretariat Progress Report on the Implementation of the Small States Agenda, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2008
67. Commonwealth Secretariat, Small States: Economic Review and Basic Statistics, Volume 13, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2009, p ii.
68. J Kennan & M Cali, The Global Downturn and Trade Prospects for Small States, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2009, p 1.
69. SJ Burki, 'Integrating small states in a fast-changing global economy', in Peretz, et al, Small States in the Global Economy, p 9.
70. Arthur, 'Foreword', p vii.
71. Commonwealth Secretariat, Development and Democracy, p 20. More recently reports have claimed that the impact of the global downturn has been 'more so for small states' because of their heightened exposure to external markets.
72. See, for example, C Kennan & C Cali, The Global Downturn and Trade Prospects for Small States.
73. G Wignaraja, M Lezama & D Joiner, Small States in Transition: From Vulnerability to Competitiveness, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2004, p 12.
74. For an in-depth discussion of this distinction, see C Hay & N Smith, 'Horses for courses? The political discourse of globalisation and European integration in the UK and Ireland', West European Politics, 28(1),2005, pp 124-58.
75. Burki, 'Integrating small states in a fast-changing global economy', p 9.
76. RL Bernal, 'Globalisation and small developing economies: challenges and opportunities', in Peretz et al, Small States in the Global Economy, p 40.
77. P Collier & D Dollar, 'Aid, risk and the special concerns of small states', in Peretz et al, Small States in the Global Economy, p 11.
78. Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Secretariat Progress Report on the Implementation of the Small States Agenda, p 6.
79. A Narlikar, 'Fairness in international trade negotiations: developing countries in the GATT and WTO', The World Economy, 29(1005-1029), 2006
80. Wilkinson, 'Language, power and multilateral trade negotiations'.
81. RB Zoellick, 'America will not wait for the won't do countries', Financial Times, 22 September, 2003, p 5.
82. For details of US subsidies, see D Lee & NJ Smith, 'The political economy of small African states in the WTO', The Round Table, 395, 2008.
83. S Ostry, 'The world trading system: in the fog of uncertainty', Review of International Organizations, 1(2),2006.
84. Evidence of this support can be found in paragraph 29 of the ACP Declaration to the WTO seventh Ministerial Conference in Geneva in late 2009 and the Communication of Egypt to the Conference sent on behalf of the African Union.
85. See, for example, Oxfam International, Pricing Farmers out of Cotton: The Costs of World Bank Reforms in Mali, Oxford: Oxfam, 2007.
86. KH Cross, 'King cotton, developing countries and the "peace clause": the WTO's US cotton subsidies decision', Journal of International Economic Law, 9(1), 2006.
87. WTO, 'WT/Min (03)/W/2 (15 August)', WT/MIN (03)/W/2 (15 August), 2003
88. DA Sumner, 'Reducing cotton subsidies: the DDA cotton initiative', in W Martin & K Anderson, Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005
89. EL Heinisch, 'West Africa versus the United States on cotton subsidies: how, why and what next?', Journal of Modern African Studies, 44(02), 2006.
90. Lee & Smith, 'The political economy of small African states in the WTO'.
91. JM Alston, DA Sumner & H Brunke, 'Impacts of reductions in US cotton subsidies on West African cotton producers', Washington DC: Oxfam America, at http://omiusajpic.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/paying_the_prince.pdf (accessed 1 October 2010).
92. For data on West African cotton productivity, see WTO, 'WT/Min (03)/W/2 (15 August)'.
93. The Economist, 30 July 2004.
94. For details, see Lee, Middle Powers and Commercial Diplomacy.
95. WTO, 'United States-Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services: Request for Consultations by Antigua and Barbuda', 2003.
96. WTO, 'United States-Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services: Report of the Panel', 2004
97. WTO, 'United States-Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services: Report of the Appellate Body', 2005.
98. For details of the case, go to www.antiguawto.com.
99. AF Cooper, 'Confronting vulnerability through resilient diplomacy: Antigua and the WTO internet gambling dispute with the United States', in AF Cooper & TM Shaw, The Diplomacies of Small States: Between Vulnerability and Resilience, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2009.
100. B Bora, MA Razzaque & R Grynberg, Marginalisation of LCDs and Small Vulnerable States in World Trade, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2004
101. Grynberg, WTO at the Margins.
102. A Narlikar, International Trade and Developing Countries: Bargaining and Coalitions in the GATT and WTO, London: Routledge, 2003
103. A Narlikar & D Tussie, 'The G20 at the Cancun Ministerial: developing countries and their evolving coalitions in the WTO', The World Economy, 27(7), 2004
104. JS Odell (ed), Negotiating Trade: Developing Countries in the WTO and NAFTA, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
105. P Katzenstein, Small States in World Markets: Industrial Policy in Europe.
106. P Katzenstein, 'Small states and small states revisited', New Political Economy, 8, 2003.
107. C Hay, 'Contemporary capitalism, globalisation, regionalisation and the persistence of national variation', Review of International Studies, 26(4), 2000, p 525.