Modern Small States: Approaches to Operationalization, Classifications and Levels of Complex Analysis

The relevance of the topic is attributed to the diversity of sovereign polities due to the relatively recent increase in the number of states, many of which possess an objectively small size, and changing role of small states that occupied a peripheral position within the bipolar system of international relations, and now are receiving more opportunities in a globalizing world that help them solve the problem of limited resources in world politics. At the same time, the category of small states is not unanimously agreed upon, despite its frequent use in public and scientific discourse by researchers. The aim of this article is to systematize approaches to the conceptualization and operationalization of small states based on absolute, relative, quantitative and qualitative criteria and to analyze their applicability at various levels from global to dyadic ones. The article also seeks to establish the number of small states based on the index of the size of the state developed by the Russian researcher A. V. Travish, taking into account the ratio between states in terms of their population, territory and GDP. Although this approach does not allow delineating the boundaries of qualitatively different subcategories of small states due to their large number, the author concludes that the selection of cases for thicker research should begin with a primary quantitative analysis. Finally, an attempt has been made to classify small states based on geographical and analytical criteria, taking into account the aforementioned index of the size of the state.