Traditional grand strategy frameworks, heavily influenced by authors like B.H. Liddell Hart and George Kennan, primarily address great powers, leaving most smaller states without a usable theory for survival, a predicament termed the "plastic bag condition." This condition describes operating without a coherent theory of survival, where states are tossed by global power currents.
The article proposes "positional survival" for small states, defined as aligning all national resources to preserve sovereignty and freedom of action. This requires achieving internal cohesion by sustaining popular legitimacy through responsive governance and conducting disciplined, targeted operations against non-state armed actors without alienating the population. Externally, states must strategically select great-power dynamics, becoming "nodes" (indispensable functions), "hedges" (multiple relationships), or "shelters" (binding to larger security frameworks) to be too costly or useful to be consumed. Legitimacy, fostered by democratic institutions, is crucial for internal resilience against armed threats and external pressures.
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