Lilliputian Foreign Policy of a Small State: The Case of the Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

The paper focuses on the foreign policy-making and choices of a small and weak state, i.e. the Republic of Macedonia. The article revolves around a set of questions defining the smallness and weakness of small states in international relations. Then it proceeds to analyze foreign policy choices and decisions of the Macedonian state since 1991. The basic hypothesis is that not only smallness is important but also the weakness of a state. Quasi-protectorates in the post-Yugoslav region can hardly afford any independent foreign policy goals and means. The link between the internal (in)stability and external interventions (international state-building) determines an overwhelming dependency syndrome, which predestines the affiliation of these states to the West. The rhetoric of the advancement of the New East (newly empowered Russia and China) serve only as a factor of fear that strengthens the grip of the Western alliances and organizations.