1st Edition
The Rise of Small Island Developing States in the Indo-Pacific Reframing Foreign Policy Agency
Introduction – When ‘small’ islands trigger big reactions
Why the Indo-Pacific matters to islands
Enter major powers: a quiet and not-so-quiet tussle over the islands
The aims of this book
Case rationales: Solomon Islands, Fiji, Seychelles and Mauritius
Temporal scope and context: 2017–2026
From vulnerable to vocal
Reference list
Chapter 2 – Small Island Developing States: small and inconsequential or small and consequential?
What is a ‘small’ state, or when is a ‘small’ state?
Small Island Developing States and Large Ocean States as a type of small state
Small states: dimensions of their consequentiality
Small states: inconsequential actors
A hierarchy of power: the persistence of the inconsequential narrative
The inconsequential state’s foreign policy options
Reference list
Chapter 3 – Activist-challenger states: Solomon Islands’ and Fiji’s quest for foreign policy autonomy
Solomon Islands: in between powers, but beyond alignment
Solomon Islands: foreign policy manoeuvring in a contested region
‘Friends to all’: adopting strategic flexibility in a multipolar order
Pacific activism: moral authority, climate diplomacy and global governance failures
Neither here nor there: strategic flexibility without alignment
Fiji: a small state but an ambitious actor
A foreign policy rooted in activism and leadership
Speaking without deference: strategically contumacious
Neither aligned nor oppositional: issue-based positioning in an era of polarisation
Fighting the tide: activist leadership in a crowded ocean
Reference list
Chapter 4 – Pioneer states: Seychelles’ and Mauritius’ drive towards strategic agency
Seychelles: From forgotten dependency to ocean governance frontrunner
Seychelles’ foreign policy orientation: a rule-innovator
Non-alignment: keeping geopolitics at bay
Balanced engagement: a ‘friends to all approach’
Mauritius: From colonial outpost and ‘Little India’ to a self-identified Large Ocean State
Acting as a pioneer in the Western Indian Ocean
Principled engagement without antagonism in Mauritius’ bilateral relations
A foreign policy steeped in multi-actor engagement
Taking the lead: moving beyond participation
Reference List
Chapter 5 – Beyond dependency: reconceptualising the foreign policies of Small Island Developing States and Large Ocean States
The influence of SIDS/LOS
Power through position
Power through collective action
Power through relational resources
Power through influencing the narrative
Power through moral suasion
Three strategies of engagement
Towards an alternative model of SIDS/LOS foreign policy rooted in interdependence
Reference List
Conclusion – From Passive Pawns to Pivotal Players
Agency through roles
Agency in relation to power and resources
Agency in an unpredictable world
Agency across islands
Agency through naming
Implication of agency
Reference List
Biography
Daniela Bianka Marggraff, holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, where she serves as a Junior Research Officer in the Department of History, Heritage and Cultural Tourism, within the Faculty of Humanities. Her research is situated within the field of oceanic International Relations and examines the foreign policies of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Large Ocean States (LOS), as well as the evolving geopolitics and governance of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean.
"This book offers a compelling reinterpretation of Indo-Pacific politics by shifting the focus from the strategic calculations of major powers to the agency of Small Island Developing States. It is a theoretically innovative and rigorously researched analysis. Drawing on illustrative examples from Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and Fiji and Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, it provides a powerful account of how small island states formulate, enact and adapt their foreign policies in response to intensifying geopolitical competition. Combining analytical sophistication with policy relevance, the book makes a significant contribution to contemporary debates on international relations, small-state foreign policy and Indo-Pacific geopolitics."
Valur Ingimundarson, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Iceland
"This book provides an important reassessment of the foreign policy options available to Small Island Developing States in the Indo-Pacific. Challenging conventional assumptions about vulnerability and dependence, it demonstrates the diverse strategies through which island states navigate geopolitical competition while advancing their own interests. It will be of considerable interest to scholars and policymakers concerned with maritime politics and the Indo-Pacific in this time of global disrupture."
Chris Alden, Professor of International Relations, Director of LSE IDEAS
