Social cohesion, governance and social development in small states

Abstract

Being small is often considered to be synonymous with being powerless and vulnerable. Indeed, small jurisdictions generally have no choice but to be exposed to the vagaries of globalisation. However, sound socio-economic and governance policies can offset what are often construed as structural and inherent handicaps. Thus, while small states are more economically vulnerable, they often adopt policies to compensate for this. This chapter will discuss the relationship between social cohesion, governance and social development. The focus is on social cohesion which, it is hypothesised, is a major contributing factor to economic resilience building.