Small Country Security Strategy: Why The Country Does Not Develop Military Power

Why are there 23 states without regular armies under the self‐help system of international anarchy? These states neither develop their own military force nor make formal alliance with other states to counterbalance threats,but they still survived for a long time.It seems like abnormal cases in the international society,which could not be explained very well by structural realism.This dissertation will try to explore this puzzle.By statistical analysis and comparative case studies,it is found that these states mainly locate in three regions,namely Oceania South Pacific Region,North America Caribbean Region,European Inland Areas.Based on the regional classification and further analysis,it is found that there are four factors which affect states to choose its security strategies,namely,geography,regional power structure,colonial memories,international norms.On the whole the geography mainly appears to be island or inland states,and island states account for a bigger part among these states without military force.Colonial memories become their common historical imprint,and it deeply affects their choices for military development.With the further development of the sovereign international norms and the relative peaceful international environment,they are inclined to be against war and cherish the hope of peace,thus these states without regular arms are constrained by the international norms.Among the factors above,the importance of regional power structure ranging from unipolar to bipolar or multipolar pattern is more prominent,which affects small states’ security perception of threats.This dissertation tries to compare and analyze the regional power structure on the basis of region classification.It is found that the uni‐polar regional power structure has a greater influence on the states who do not develop regular armies.Besides,the geography has always been a fundamental factor.It is found that under the common influence of factors above,these states didn’t develop military force,but they have become the relative secure states in the world.This study enriches our understanding of international politics,highlights the shortcomings of realism in practice,and provides inspiration for building a more plentiful international political theory.