A New Leadership, 2004–5

Charalampos Efstathopoulos*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

SMPs are status-seeking actors, striving to enhance their international recognition and prestige as good international citizens. While it is important to identify the range of strategies that SMPs deploy to attain such status, it is equally important to examine the approaches that these states adopt after they have attained their desired status. Securing greater status will propel SMPs to adopt a more accommodative stance and cooperate with major powers to resolve differences over the negotiations. Through their enhanced status, SMPs will have an opportunity to directly influence negotiating outcomes and secure the stability of the system that is their fundamental goal. They are therefore unlikely to antagonise major players, especially if the latter are responsive to their preferences. SMPs may experience, however, the reverse situation and fail to strengthen or even retain their status, witnessing an erosion of influence. Loss of status will force SMPs to retreat to a Southern focus in their diplomacy in order to revitalise their primary basis of influence — which is their Southern leadership. Despite differing levels of success, these patterns of status-seeking behaviour reveal that SMPs are not altruistic agents, but they are aware of how prestige comprises their foremost asset in international politics and formulate their strategies with the aim of projecting their good international citizenship.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationStudies in Diplomacy and International Relations
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages103-133
Number of pages31
ISBN (Electronic)9781137381767
ISBN (Print)978134947972-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Publication series

NameStudies in Diplomacy and International Relations
ISSN (Print)2731-3921
ISSN (Electronic)2731-393X

Keywords

  • Doha Round
  • Export Subsidy
  • General Council
  • Public Diplomacy
  • Trade Facilitation

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