Multilateral Diplomacy of Small States and Sub‐States. Applying Diverse Instruments for Thematic Diplomacy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17809671 |
|---|---|
| Authors | A Marx (0000-0003-1474-0539, KU Leuven, corresponding author), Sophia Simon (0009-0008-6324-0040, European Research Council), Philip De Man (KU Leuven) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1758-5880 • E-ISSN: 1758-5899 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1758-5899.70171 |
| OpenAlex | W7154952474 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
How do small states with limited capacity engage in a complex multilateral environment? This paper uses a case study approach to address this question, based on a thorough analysis of policy documents and more than 70 interviews with practitioners from 9 different countries and sub‐state regions (Finland, Flanders [Belgium], the Netherlands, Slovenia, Catalonia [Spain], Denmark, Liechtenstein, Scotland [United Kingdom] and Singapore). The paper gathers unique insights into both the policy and practical side of diplomatic strategies in multilateral settings of a relevant cross‐section of small multilateral players. The paper finds that small states primarily tend to adapt their diplomatic strategy in a changing global landscape based on thematic specialization and prioritization and deploy diverse diplomatic instruments to achieve their goals. The paper identifies a number of diplomatic instruments to shed light on how small players apply and sequence these instruments to formulate an overarching thematic strategy to more effectively take part in multilateral processes. Based on this analysis, the paper presents an analytic approach to analyzing the strategies of small states along three dimensions: substantive, procedural and temporal
Diplomacy · Foreign policy · Negotiation · Prioritization · Thematic analysis · Thematic map · Coastal and Marine Management · Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs
The Diplomacies of Small States
A Theory of Global Governance
The Origins of Informality
Who Governs the Globe?
Niche Diplomacy
Diplomacy and the Making of World Politics
Ministries of Foreign Affairs
Conceptualizing Economic Diplomacy
The Boundaries of Public Diplomacy and Nonstate Actors
Federalism, Paradiplomacy and Foreign Policy
Dwarfs in international negotiations
Beyond soft balancing
An ever more entangled Union? The European Union’s interactions with global governance institutions
Trans-governmental regulatory networks and the European Union’s involvement in global governance
Science Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century
Public Diplomacy and Soft Power
Institutionalized Summitry
Norm Entrepreneurs
Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research
The Regime Complex for Climate Change
Small states and coalition building in extremis
Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics
Tracking organizations in the world
Reframing Cultural Diplomacy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |