Politics, security, and development in small states /

According to the editors' criterion for smallness-a population under 1 million-44 nations qualify. Eight case studies (Grenada, Antigua, Fiji, Mauritius, The Gambia, Swaziland, Malta, and Cyprus) from the 27 small nations of the Commonwealth are presented. Part A is a survey of politics, society, economics, and security of small states; Part B examines the case studies, and Part C gives perspectives and conclusions. The editors aim to update Burton Benedict's pioneering study, Problems of Smaller Territories (1967), and to broaden Development Policy in Small Countries, ed. by Percy Selwyn (1975). The short conclusion provides a clear summary of the origins and the pros and cons of smallness. The problems are never applicable to all small states, however, as smallness represents only ``an additional set of factors'' that vary for each minination. The examples are not particularly representative. The recent unheaval makes the Fiji chapter obsolete. A basic book on mininations, recommended for all college students of decolonization.-C.W. Arnade, University of South Florida