Book review : Reframing the buffer state in contemporary international relations : Nepal’s relations with India and China

Abstract

The challenges for a small state manoeuvring its way amidst the realpolitik of international relations amplify exponentially if geography is cruel to it. Buffer states, smaller states sandwiched between two more powerful contesting states, are perhaps the most vulnerable to the cruelties of their geographical disposition. Chand’s book – Reframing the buffer state in contemporary international relations: Nepal’s relations with India and China – is a timely contribution that addresses the limited theoretical attention to buffer states, and which seeks to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding them.