Description
This paper challenges the dominant notion in international politics that small states adopt similar security and foreign policies. We argue that variations exist between cases whereby small states have adopted dissimilar policies despite having similar geopolitical dispositions. Using Bhutan and Nepal as illustrative cases, we show how variation might look like. Nepal maintains close ties with both of its neighbors while Bhutan has a ‘special friendship’ with India and no official links with the People’s Republic of China. We explain this divergence through national role conceptions of Nepal and Bhutan, as espoused by role theory.
