Despite their generally insignificant size
and lack of hard power, small states tend to be very active in international
relations. Indeed, small states tend to play an important role in multilateral
diplomacy.
Small states generally tend to advocate and
uphold the rule of international law, promote the United Nations as well as the
importance of cooperation in all spheres. Recognising that no single country,
irrespective of its size and power, can solve all the problems the world is
facing, small states turn towards an international, multilateral, rules-based
system to strengthen cooperation between all nations. Small states, due
precisely to their lack of hard power are, and considered to be, honest brokers,
without national agendas, who present proposals and ideas that benefit all of
mankind.
In an environment characterised by a
multilateral, rules-based system, which sets a level playing field for all,
small states, especially if united together, have the opportunity to present their
ideas and proposals across to all nations, irrespective of the latter’s size
and power. There have been numerous
occasions where small states, including Malta through its role in the
formulation of the International Law of the Sea, managed to push forward
proposals to strengthen and develop different aspects of the international
legal framework. Small states have also
been at the forefront in drawing the international community’s attention to
severe problems the world is facing, such as climate change.
The very smallness and lack of hard power of
these states serve to remind the international community of its obligations and
commitments to the rules-based order which has been created during the past
decades.
