Di spatches|MICROSTATESMonaco, pictured here, is sixthon our Top 10 list of the world’ssmallest well-run countries.46WINTER 2012 | JAN-FEB-MAR
MICROSTATES|Di spatchesOur Top 10smallest countries in the worldThese microstate countries have influenced or inspired their larger neighbours, through various means— economic muscle, political skill, environmental and moral leadershipBy Wolfgang DepnerSize matters. The reality is that thesmallest sovereign states might notreceive a whole lot of respect fromthe larger, more populous members of theinternational community.Many so-called microstates are fairlyrecent creations. And many require specialeconomic, environmental and governanceassistance to overcome their size-relateddisadvantages, according to extensiveresearch by the United Nations, the WorldBank and the Commonwealth Secretariat.This absence of control and influencealso extends to the political sphere, sincemany microstates lack the financial andmaterial means to pursue their own diplomaticinterests against bullying neighbours,and if necessary, defend their ownterritory. Irish-American writer LeonardWibberley famously spoofed the militaryimpotency of microstates in his novel TheMouse That Roared, which later became amovie in which Stanley Kubrick-favouritePeter Sellers plays the military leader,prime minister and Queen of Grand Fenwick,a tiny Alpine duchy. Faced withbankruptcy, the duchy invades the UnitedStates with longbow-men on the hope thattheir inevitable defeat would inspire theU.S. to shower the duchy with a generousMarshall Plan-like compensation package.Let us say that this plan does not exactlypan out.Even prosperous and prestigious Monacoexercises its own sovereignty “inaccordance with the fundamental interestsof the French republic,” according to TheEconomist and depends on its large neighbourfor military protection, a fate manymicrostates share.Indeed, had it not been for the charmeddiplomacy of American movie icon GraceKelly on behalf of her husband, PrinceRainier III, in his dispute with powerfulFrench president Charles de Gaulle overthe status of his principality as tax havenduring the 1960s, Monaco might havesuffered “asphyxiation” at the hands ofFrance.More recently, in 2009, tiny Liechtensteinhad to accept a verbal attack fromGermany over the grand duchy’s refusalto co-operate in hunting down tax evaders.Two years earlier, Liechtenstein officialshad to learn that some 1,170 Swisstroops had “invaded” their country afterthey had made a navigation error duringa night exercise. How did they find out?They received a call from colleagues inBern!Liechtenstein, for the record, lacksan army of any kind. While this ratherhumorous event does not cast the Swissarmy in the most professional light — themisguided soldiers carried rifles, but noammunition during their nightly stumblethrough the woods — it underscores thegenuine vulnerabilities of microstates,something Luxembourg discovered duringthe first half of the 20th Century, whenGerman troops occupied it not once, buttwice, on their way toward France andBelgium.Many microstates now face a differentform of threat to their continued existence:climate change. If current trends hold true,oceanic microstates such as Tuvalu couldsoon become uninhabitable, a possibilitythat has prompted the Maldives, a nationof 1,200 low-lying islands in the IndianOcean, to consider buying land elsewherein the region.In other words, it is not easy beingsmall. But small can also be beautiful, asthis list aims to showcase. Drawing on arange of economic variables such as grossdomestic product (GDP), health, educationalachievements and other intangibles,this list shows that being tiny can be fine.One way or another, these 10 countrieshave found ways to influence or inspiretheir larger neighbours, be it throughtheir economic muscles (as in the case ofSingapore), political skill (Luxembourg),environmental leadership (Monaco) ormoral leadership (San Marino). Indeed, asglobalization continues to ameliorate theadvantages of size in rewarding flexibility,some of these microstates are poisedto play larger roles on the global stage.Granted, none of them achieves perfection.But then again, who does?diplomat and international canada 47
Change language