Of Lambs and Lions
Relations Between Great Powers and their Smaller Neighbors
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8912232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Olav F Knudsen (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1988 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 111-122 |
| Publication date | 1988-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cooperation and Conflict (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0010-8367 • E-ISSN: 1460-3691 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083678802300301 |
| OpenAlex | W4252138535 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 16 |
Knudsen, O. F. Of Lambs and Lions: Relations Between Great Powers and their Smaller Neighbors. Cooperation and Conflict, XXIII, 1988, 111-122. The relations between great powers and their smaller neighbors are accentuated cases of great-power/small-state relations generally and thus potentially useful for exploring such asymmetries. The article presents a model to explain key features of asymmetric dyadic relationships, in particular the application of political pressure by a great power against its smaller neighbor(s). The model includes three causal variables: tension between the great powers; great-power neighbor's extroversion; the smaller neighbor's foreign policy orientation. The concept of "freedom of action" is critically scrutinized and rejected. It is replaced as dependent variable by "the great-power's propensity to apply pressure against the small state". The elements of the model are presented and discussed. The overall argument of the article is that relations between contiguous small and great powers tend to be unstable, due to (a) the fact that the neighbor's relations are largely shaped by factors outside the bilateral relationship, and (b) the asymmetric importance of the mutual relationship to the two parties
Argument (complex analysis · Economics · International relations · Law and economics · Mathematical economics · Physics · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Power (physics · Sociology · State (computer science · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Mathematics
Why Nations Realign
Nations in conflict
Alliances and small powers
The survival of small states
War and Change in World Politics
Finnish Neutrality
Canadian security and ‘defence against help’
Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era, 1910-1917
The Functions of Small States in the Strategies of the Great Powers
The Power of Small States
The Power of the Weak
The Perennial Problem of Small States
The Hovering Giant
Weak states in the international system
The Historical Alternation of Moods in American Foreign Policy
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |