1st Edition
The Nordic, Baltic and Visegrád Small Powers in Europe A Dance with Giants for Survival and Prosperity
This volume addresses and seeks to answer a number of questions on the current issues facing small states/powers in Europe. How can small European states survive and prosper within a multipolar world of great powers? What part should small states take in European integration? Are EU fiscal and monetary policies allowing for Keynesian economic stimulus when needed and are euro area convergence criteria viable as the world recovers from the COVID-19 crisis? Are small state alliances within the EU useful to counterbalance the influence of the larger EU member states? How far should EU and NATO expansion go? Should it include countries such as Ukraine? Can the EU rely on US leadership of NATO for its security? How should small states relate to great powers seeking to influence Europe, most notably the US, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation? Do smaller states need to choose a single ally among the major powers?
Using an interdisciplinary approach, the author discusses issues of economic policy, international relations and politics, economic and political integration, as well as the effects of global and regional institutions, and priorities in bilateral development cooperation, demonstrating how policies are shaped by the interaction between small states (small powers) and large states (great powers).
Introduction 1 The Costs and Benefits of European Integration, and the Challenges of NATO Membership for Small Powers 2 Participation in Global and Regional Institutions and International Relations Theories 3 Some Small Power Alliances in Europe 4 Economic and Social Performance after the 2008–09 Crisis and during the COVID-19 Pandemic 5 Great Powers Influencing Europe in a Changing World: From Bipolar to Unipolar to Multipolar 6 The US and its Role in Europe: Is the Transatlantic Alliance Viable and Feasible? 7 The Rise of China and its Growing Economic and Political Interest in Europe 8 Sharing a Border with Russia: Ukraine and the Challenge of EU and NATO Expansion 9 How can Europe move Forward Post-COVID-19 and Brexit? 10 Dancing with Giants: What can Small Powers do to maintain their Economic and Political Sovereignty in a Multipolar World? 11 Conclusions and Policy Implications Index
Biography
Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson is a Professor at the University of Akureyri, Faculty of Business Administration, Iceland. He served as a specialist and coordinator with the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, US, from 1990 to 1995, at the World Bank office in Riga from 1999 to 2003, and at the World Bank office in Hanoi, Viet Nam, from 2003 to 2006. From 1995 to 1999 he served as a Special Adviser to the Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs. Dr Hilmarsson has published over 80 scholarly articles and book chapters, and three books.
