NATIONAL SECURITY AND SMALL STATES: A THIRD WORLD PERSPECTIVE

This comprehensive analysis examines the national security challenges facing small states in the Third World during the mid-1980s, with particular focus on how these states conceptualize and pursue security in an asymmetric international system. The article explores the unique security predicament of small developing countries, analyzing how limited resources, geographical constraints, and external vulnerabilities shape their security policies. The research investigates how small states in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean define their security interests and develop strategies to protect them. The study examines both traditional military threats and non-traditional security challenges including economic vulnerabilities, environmental pressures, and internal instability. The article assesses various security strategies employed by small states, including alliance formation, neutrality policies, regional cooperation, and international norm advocacy. The research also evaluates the impact of superpower competition and changing global dynamics on small state security in the Third World. Furthermore, the analysis proposes a comprehensive security framework tailored to the specific needs and constraints of small developing states.

The national security challenges of small states in the Third World represented a critical area of international relations during the mid-1980s, with this article providing a comprehensive analysis from the perspective of small developing countries. The research begins by examining the conceptual foundations of security in small state contexts, analyzing how traditional realist frameworks require adaptation to account for the unique vulnerabilities and capabilities of small states. The analysis explores the structural constraints that small states face in the international system, including limited diplomatic representation, economic dependence, military weakness, and vulnerability to external pressure. The article investigates how small states define their security interests, examining how concerns about sovereignty protection, regime survival, economic stability, and societal welfare interact in security policymaking. The study examines various security strategies adopted by small states, including formal alliance membership in regional security arrangements, non-aligned positions that seek to avoid entanglement in major power conflicts, and comprehensive security approaches that integrate military, economic, and environmental dimensions. The research analyzes case studies from different regions, examining how small states in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and other developing regions navigate their security challenges. Based on the comprehensive assessment, the article develops a framework for small state security that emphasizes diplomatic engagement, economic resilience, regional cooperation, and strategic autonomy within structural constraints. The findings provide valuable insights into how small states can maximize their security in an asymmetric international system and contribute to understanding the evolving nature of security in the developing world.