Crisis management in small states : lessons for the global community

Abstract

Smallness can impact negatively upon good governance and democracy. However, it may also facilitate knowledge-sharing and rapid policy responses in times of crises. A small public administration enables frequent interaction between elites and experts which may compensate for greater resources of larger states. This paper argues that small state scholars have proven that the flexibility of small states often makes them handle crisis situations better than larger states, despite their limited human, economic and military resources. Accordingly, small states can provide important and timely answers to the big question of how global actors can manage crisis situations.