Book review : Small states and security in Europe : between national and international policymaking

Abstract

This book offers a substantive addition to the literature on small states and territories. In exploring how small states shape security structures and the policymaking process in the Europe Union and beyond, this book incorporates empirical examples of case studies that shape the security process outside the traditional military-centred approach. The book also elaborates on the impact small states have on international organisations and institutions, such as the EU and NATO. Its twelve chapters are categorised into five distinct parts. Listed chapters explore certain case studies in more depth, highlighting the authors’ expertise and research interests pertaining to these cases. Each chapter incorporates a separate theoretical framework, yet the authors and editors retain the universality of the book in line with the main theme of how domestic and external contestation shapes the policymaking process and external relations, while also adapting an “expansive conception of security” (p. xvi). The introduction in Chapter 1, co-authored by the volume editors Tomáš Weiss and Geoffrey Edwards, situates the reader within existing policy practices, such as the EU’s strategic approach, as well as related literature on International Relations theory and small states. The chapter also introduces the book outline. Despite the brevity of this chapter, the editors paint a coherent picture of how each respective chapter ties into the overarching theme of this volume. [excerpt]