Review: International Politics and Organization: Microstates in World Affairs
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207803300323 |
| Date | 01 September 1978 |
| Author | George C. Abbott |
| Published date | 01 September 1978 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
650
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
comparison
of the
socialization
and
statesmanship
of
Nasser
and Nehru.
He
recognizes
the
need
for
different
modes
and
levels
of
analysis
and
for
a
redefinition
of
non-alignment
in
the
post-bipolar
world.
But
al-
though
he
traces
developments
in
the
definition
of
non-alignment
he
fails
to
treat
the
political
economy
of
inequalities
in the
Third
World,
accepting
instead
the
idea
of
'egalitarian
weakness'
(p
183).
Despite
certain
insights
and
concepts,
then,
this
massive
volume
does
not
ex-
plain
Third
World behaviour
or
perceptions;
neither
does
it
illumi-
nate
the
debate
over
the
New
International
Economic
Order.
It
points
to
the
problems
of
'strain'
(p
223)
because
of
underdevelopment,
with-
out
appreciating
the
difficulties
of
overcoming
such
an
inheritance.
Whilst
the
author
is
appropriately
critical
of
many
orthodox 'para-
digms'
in international
relations,
he
does
not
advance
an
alternative
theory of
non-alignment
and
foreign
policy
in
the
Third
World.
Neither
does
he
recognize
that
the poor
may
have
more
interest
in
conflict-making
than
in
conflict
management
(P 395),
given
global
inequalities.
Timothy
M.
Shaw/Dalhousie University
MICROSTATES
IN
WORLD
AFFAIRS
Policy
Problems
and
Options
Elmer
Plischke
Washington:
American
Enterprise
Institute
for
Public
Policy
Research,
1977,
xii,
153pp,
$3.00
Professor
Plischke
writes
on
a
very
important
topic;
the
postwar
pro-
liferation
of
microstates
and
their
role
in
the
determination
and
con-
duct
of
international
affairs.
Collectively,
their
influence
has
grown
out
of
all
proportion
to
their
size,
population,
national
resources,
and
other
relevant
criteria.
What
is
more,
the
process
is
far
from
complete.
There
are
at
least
another
lOO
to
15o
countries
waiting
in
the
wings,
more
if
account
is
taken of
secessionist
movements
and
further
frag-
mentation.
These
developments will inevitably reduce
the
ability
of
the
United
States
and
other major
powers
to
influence
international
affairs.
More
importantly,
they
expose
the
legal
fiction
of equality
and
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