Dinner Speech - Diana Panke: Is small beautiful in international negotiations? Can small states punch above their weight or do they trade votes for aid?

Is small beautiful in international negotiations? Can small states punch above their weight or do they trade votes for aid?

Since the end of WWII, the number of international institutions in which states cooperate with each other has increased tremendously. By now, there are hardly any policy areas which are not at least partially covered by international or regional organisations or regimes. Most often, international institutions are composed of both, big and small states. Nevertheless, we know not much about the challenges that small states face in multilateral negotiations, how they try to cope with size-related difficulties and under which conditions they get what they want. Thus, the talk addresses a series of questions, including: Which difficulties do smaller states face? Can small states punch above their weight and if so how?  Under which conditions are smaller states inclined to trade voting support for aid? The talk ends with insights into how smaller states can best adapt to challenges faced in multilateral decision-making and international negotiations more generally.