Micro-Powers – The Rise Of Small States

Magazine covers can often offer the best guide to the future – though upside down. I am thinking of the famous BusinessWeek cover of August 1979 that proclaimed ‘The Death of Equities’ before the beginning of the 1980’s bull market, the 2014 Time magazine cover with the headline ‘Can anyone stop Hilary ?’, or the Economist cover ‘Brazil takes off’ in November 2009 just before its markets collapsed, and then ‘Has Brazil blown it ?’ in September 2013 as the country was about to boom.

Ireland’s rise

In this light, I was wary to recently read the Economist magazine (August) declare Ireland as an ‘unlikely diplomatic superpower’ because of the array of important policy seats it holds (UN Security Council, Chief economist ECB, etc). The Economist curse soon struck, and Ireland lost hold of the EU Trade Commission.

In many respects, Ireland is very powerful diplomatically, not least compared to other similar sized states. This largely due to the performance of its superb diplomatic service (which is very much underestimated in Ireland) and outward focused state organisations like the IDA (Industrial Development Authority). Also, Brexit has been an excellent proving ground for Irish diplomacy and in addition, should Joe Biden be elected as US President, this will significantly bolster Ireland’s place in Europe (Biden is likely the most fervent Irish American President).

Micro-puissance

However, the secret of Irish diplomatic success is that in general Irish people do not take themselves too seriously, and many would laugh at the notion of being a diplomatic superpower.

Maybe a ‘micro-power’ is a better term for a geopolitically influential small state. I’ve derived this from former French foreign minister and commentator on diplomacy, Hubert Vedrine’s term ‘hyper-puissance’ which means ‘hyper power’, or more than a superpower.

The idea of the ‘micro-power’ really came to mind when Israel and the United Arab Emirates recently normalised diplomatic relations. Both are powerful, small states. Israel’s power derives from its military, its diaspora and technology industry while the Emirates is politically powerful across the MENA region and financially and economically very influential (Indeed, one expert, Afshin Molavi, has described Dubai as the ‘Hong Kong of India, or the Singapore of the Middle East’).

Peace deal?

While the deal between the two countries very much sidelines the cause of the Palestinians, it reflects the speed and complexity of political change across the Middle East, and, in my view the ambition of both states to be considered ‘micro-powers’. The deal means both Israel and the UAE will gain new markets, cement relations with the White House, and deepen their collective rivalry with Iran.  

In a world that is quickly leaving globalization behind, entering a multipolar world order, the idea of the ‘micro-power’ may be one of the new diplomatic constructs of the 21^st century. Regular readers will know that I have written a lot about the small, advanced economy model but not all small, advanced states are micropowers – Austria, Finland and New Zealand all top the list in terms of socio-economic models, but their diplomatic reach is not overawing.

My criteria for a micro-power are that it must be regionally dominant, count upon a significant resource (in Ireland’s case its diaspora, in the Emirates’ case its wealth and reputation for vision), and must be durable (Switzerland is the best example here).

As the idea of the ‘micro-power’ takes hold (I hope), there will be a number of considerations to bear in mind. One is that like superpowers, we already have the first ‘micro-power’ cold war between the Emirates and Qatar (it has thawed in recent months). Another question is what micropowers are for, beyond bolstering their own influence in the world.

Values based world

In general, in a world that is transitioning from being driven by geographical to values based alliances, micropowers such as Norway, Ireland and Switzerland can act against the denigration of the rule of law and democracy internationally, and can and in my view should take the lead in pushing the remaking of international institutions – from the UN to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Some micro-powers in the making, like Singapore, may choose to dodge competing value systems – they risk being subsumed in the crush between the USA and China – and try to foster a form of regional neutrality. Others, like Scotland, have a long way to travel if they want to become micro-powers, but at least they have their history to guide them. Scotland was once the intellectual fulcrum and centre of innovation of Great Britain, and in time could again take on this role.