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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2023. Vol 45

Modern Small States: Approaches to Operationalization, Classifications and Levels of Complex Analysis

Author(s)
B. A. Barabash
Abstract
The relevance of the topic is attributed to the diversity of sovereign polities due to the relatively recent increase in the number of states, many of which possess an objectively small size, and changing role of small states that occupied a peripheral position within the bipolar system of international relations, and now are receiving more opportunities in a globalizing world that help them solve the problem of limited resources in world politics. At the same time, the category of small states is not unanimously agreed upon, despite its frequent use in public and scientific discourse by researchers. The aim of this article is to systematize approaches to the conceptualization and operationalization of small states based on absolute, relative, quantitative and qualitative criteria and to analyze their applicability at various levels from global to dyadic ones. The article also seeks to establish the number of small states based on the index of the size of the state developed by the Russian researcher A. V. Travish, taking into account the ratio between states in terms of their population, territory and GDP. Although this approach does not allow delineating the boundaries of qualitatively different subcategories of small states due to their large number, the author concludes that the selection of cases for thicker research should begin with a primary quantitative analysis. Finally, an attempt has been made to classify small states based on geographical and analytical criteria, taking into account the aforementioned index of the size of the state.
About the Authors
Barabash Bogdan Alekseevich, Postgraduate, Department of Comparative Politics, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (MGIMO University), 76, Vernadsky ave., Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation, e-mail: bogdan.barabash.mgimo@gmail.com
For citation
Barabash B.A. Modern Small States: Approaches to Operationalization, Classifications and Levels of Complex Analysis. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2023, vol. 45, pp. 101-117. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2023.45.101 (in Russian)
Keywords
small states, small powers, microstates, state size, political geography, world politics, world order.
UDC
327
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2023.45.101
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