Small States in the Multi-Polar World

Small-States-in-the-Multi-polar-World

Founding and objectives of the Group

Research group “Small States in the Multi-polar World” was founded and held its initial meeting, at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, September 28th, 2015. Professor Radhika Desai and Assistant Professor Petar Kurecic, founded the Group as a part of the GERG project The initial meeting was held after the closure of the 1st GERG Conference, titled “From the Thirty Years’ Crisis to Multi-polarity: The Evolution of the Geopolitical Economy of the 21st Century World”, http://gergconference.ca/2015-inaugural-gerg-conference/.

The topics that were discussed as the possible future research agendas were the following:

 1) Studying small states using geopolitical economy as the discipline of multipolarity
2) Various groups of small states studied through regional research
3) Small states and alliances – bandwagoning, balancing, integrating etc.
4) Small states that originated from the breakup of larger entities
5) Small unrecognized entities i.e. pseudo-states, residual consequences of the breakup of large entities;
6) The cooperation between small states through cooperation groups;
7) Imperial outposts (dependencies without full sovereignty);
8) Benefits of integration for small states – in economic terms.

The Group is however opened to all topics that are devoted to the problematics of small states/small economies in the multipolar world, and it strongly encourages the studying the afore-mentioned research interests using geopolitical economy, as the discipline of multipolarity.

Activities of the group

The Group currently has about twenty active members. So far, we have managed to organize three panels, devoted to small state research, at the Socialist Studies Society (of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences) Conference, titled “Energizing Class Struggles: Race, Gender, and Colonialism”, http://socialiststudies.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SSS-Program-Final-2016.pdf, which was held in Calgary in May and June 2016. The titles of the panels were the following: Small States in a Multipolar World (Part I & Part II), and Small States in a Multipolar World: Regional Economic/Political Integrations and Small States. The papers that were received for these panels and passed the peer-review process were published in the special issue of the World Review of Political Economy (WRPE), a Web of Science – ESCI indexed journal, in January 2018. The contents and abstracts of the papers published (excluding the ones published in earlier issues of WRPE) can be found here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.8.issue-3.

In 2017, the papers devoted to small states in integrations and other aspects of small state problematics were presented at the 19th ESD Conference (February, Melbourne): http://www.esd-conference.com/past-conferences, at the EU SAAP Conference (July, Tokyo): http://eusaap.org/images/eusaap-2017-conf/EUSAAP-2017—Conference-Programme-29-June-2017_YFG_2.pdf, and at the EU Futures Conference (October, Melbourne): https://www.rmit.edu.au/content/dam/rmit/documents/college-of-design-and-social-context/EUCentre/Fulfilling-the-Vision-European-Union-futures-conference-program.pdf.

We are currently pursuing cooperation with some other research groups that are also studying small state problematics, as well as cooperation agreements that would broaden the network of our cooperation and staff exchange (mobility) projects. We are open to new suggestions that would enhance the work of the Group as well as give visibility to new contributors. The project “Small States in the Multi-Polar World” can also be found at Research Gate, with the list and contacts of contributors, as well as full papers (containing also earlier papers, published on the topic before the founding of the group), and project references: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Small-States-in-the-Multipolar-World.

We are planning the organization of panels on small states for future conferences, as well as pursuing publication opportunities in indexed journals.

Besides the special issue of World Review of Political Economy, “Small States in the Multi-Polar World”, the following papers have also been published, as a product of the Group’s efforts:

 Papers in indexed journals (WoS, Scopus)

  1. Kurecic, P. 2017. The “New Cold Warriors” and the “Pragmatics”: The Differences in Foreign Policy Attitudes towards Russia and the Eastern Partnership States among the NATO Member States from Central and South-Eastern Europe. Croatian International Relations Review, 23 (80) 61-96, ISSN 1848-5782, /invited contribution to the special issue “NATO and its Immediate Challenges in the Contest of Current Geopolitical Tensions”/, http://cirr.irmo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CIRR-80.pdf /WoS – ESCI, Scopus/
  2. Kurecic, P. and G. Kozina. 2017. The Correlation between the FDI and the GDP in the EU15 Member States, 1980-2014. Tehnicki vjesnik (Technical Gazette), 24 (Suppl. 2), 521-524, ISSN 1330-3651 (Print), 1848-6339 (Online), http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=274465 /WoS – SCIE, Scopus/
  3. Kurecic, P. and F. Kokotovic. 2017. The Relevance of Political Stability on FDI: A VAR Analysis and ARDL Models for Selected Small, Developed, and Instability Threatened Economies. Economies, 5 (3) 22, ISSN 2227-7099, /contribution to the special issue “FDI and Development: Emerging Issues”/ http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/5/3/22 /WoS – ESCI/
  4. Kurecic, P. and F. Kokotovic. 2017. Examining the ”Natural Resource Curse” and the Impact of Various Forms of Capital in Small Tourism and Natural Resource-Dependent Economies. Economies, 5 (1) 6, ISSN 2227-7099, /invited contribution to the special issue “The Impact of Natural Resources on Economic Development in an Era of Globalization”/ http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/5/1/6 /WoS – ESCI/
  5. Lusa, D. and P. Kurecic. 2015. The Number and Geographical Scope of Foreign Policy Initiatives of Small EU Members: Does „Smallness“ Matter? Croatian International Relations Review, XXI (72) 47-82, ISSN 1848-5782, https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/cirr.2015.21.issue-72/cirr-2015-0002/cirr-2015-0002.xml /Scopus/

Papers in other journals and conference proceedings

  1. Kurecic, P., Milkovic, M. and F. Kokotovic. 2017. An Introduction to Empiric Approach to the Resource Curse Phenomenon in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, 2 (6) 6-14, ISSN 1849-7020 (Print), ISSN 1849-7551 (Online), https://researchleap.com/article-archives/ijied-2-6/ & the 19th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development Book of Proceedings, 374-382, Melbourne, Australia, ISSN 1849-7535, http://www.esd-conference.com/?page=past-conferences, indexed in Conference Proceedings Citation Index, by Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science);
  2. Kurecic, P., Kozina, G. and F. Kokotovic. 2017. Revisiting the Definition of Small State through the use of Relational and Quantitative Criteria. 19th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development Book of Proceedings, 129-142, Melbourne, ISSN1849-7535, http://www.esd-conference.com/?page=past-conferences, indexed in Conference Proceedings Citation Index, by Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science);
  3. Kurecic, P. and B. Kampmark. 2016. A Multifarious, Multifaceted Approach to the Multipolar World: A Necessity. International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, 2 (8) 42-51, ISSN 1849-5419 (Print), ISSN 1849-5664 (Online); Proceedings of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development, 90-100, Barcelona, ISSN 1849-7535, http://www.esd-conference.com/?page=past-conferences, indexed in Conference Proceedings Citation Index, by Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science);

Contact person: Petar Kurecic, PhD, Ass. Prof. Group coordinator, University North, Croatia, [email protected]