Small States Have More Power Than Trump and Putin Think

Ukraine, Finland, and why small states could define the new world order.

As conflicts between great powers come to a head across the Middle East and Europe, it seems inevitable that smaller states will find themselves caught up as collateral damage. But political scientist Kristi Raik argues small states are more resilient than we give them credit for. From Ukraine to Finland and the Baltics, she shows how times of rupture reveal small states not as victims, but as strategic actors capable of shaping their own survival – and what this means for the international order now taking shape.