This book examines the development of Timor-Leste’s foreign policy since achieving political independence in 2002. It considers the influence of Timor-Leste’s historical experiences with foreign intervention on how the small, new state has pursued security. The book argues that efforts to secure the Timorese state have been motivated by a desire to reduce foreign intervention and dependence upon other actors within the international community. Timor-Leste’s desire for ‘real’ independence — characterized by the absence of foreign interference — permeates all spheres of its international political, cultural and economic relations and foreign policy discourse. Securing the state entails projecting a legitimate identity in the international community to protect and guarantee political recognition of sovereign status, an imperative that gives rise to Timor-Leste’s aspirational foreign policy. The book examines Timor-Leste’s key bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relations, its engagement with the global normative order, and its place within the changing Asia-Pacific region.

This volume studies the links among the concepts of globalization, security, and the authority of the nation state, drawing attention to why and how these three concepts are interrelated and why they should be studied together. Contributors explore the connections between security and global transformations, and the corresponding or resulting changes in state structures that emerge. Probing and extending existing paradigms, the book offers three regional cases studies: the periphery states of the Middle East and North Africa, the second world states of the Russian Federation, and the core states of the European Union. It concludes with three chapters that synthesize the above themes to identify corresponding changes in the patterns of international politics.

This comprehensive study of State failure upholds that the collapse of States in sub-Saharan Africa is a self-inflicted problem caused by the abandonment of the principle of effectiveness during decolonization. On the one hand, the abandonment of effectiveness may have facilitated the recognition of the new African States, but on the other it did lead to the creation of States that were essentially powerless: some of which became utter failures. Written in a style both provocative and unorthodox and using convincing arguments, this study casts doubt on some of the most sacred principles of the modern doctrine of international law. It establishes that the declaratory theory of recognition cannot satisfactorily explain the continuing existence of failed States. It also demonstrates that the principled assertion of the right to self-determination as the basis for independence in Africa has turned the notion of sovereignty into a formal-legal figment without substance. This book is a plea for more realism in international law. Pensive pessimists in the tradition of Hobbes will probably love it. Idealists in the tradition of Grotius may hate it, but they will find it very difficult to reject its conclusions.

Introduction -- The fundamental tension -- Taming the hierarchy -- Forging the political terrain -- The developing world: two examples -- The use of power -- Conclusion

The Arabian Gulf region is a vulnerable flashpoint. Small states in this region try to leverage their core interests against big power domination. This book narrates the problematique of Kuwait, whose geostrategic weakness was exposed in 1990, forcing her to trade resource strength for security guarantees. In recent years, challenged by regional rivalries, environmental impacts, falling oil prices and the dangers of terrorist insurgency, Kuwait faces an escalating security dilemma. With the imminent disengagement of the U.S. from Middle Eastern entanglements, should Kuwait resort to hedging partnerships with emerging multipolar giants like China, Russia or India? Can Kuwait survive domestic challenges of a youth bulge, a huge expatriate population, budgetary deficits, increasing public welfare and costs of desalination? What would be the main security options for Kuwait in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous?

This study of international relations is often cut off from the study of domestic affairs, but this insulation of the international from the domestic is wrong. International forces profoundly influence the core structures of sovereign statehood, including their political military, economic and normative substance. Conversely, the very nature of international relations is determined by the internal structure of states. In an important contribution to the debate, Georg Sørensen puts forward an original analysis of this critical interplay between internal and external forces. He explores the development and change of the sovereign state and offers a new agenda for the study of international relations. Changes in Statehood will be essential reading for students and researchers in international relations, political science and security.