Microstates in World Affairs: Policy Problems and Options; Mini-States and Macro-Cooperation: The Caribbean and the South Pacific

Microstates pose dilemmas for the management of international relationships that are too often disregarded and that will pose increasingly serious difficulties, especially within international organizations. Professor Plischke argues that unless new forms of international participation are developed, the rule of sovereign equality will incapacitate international organizations. Already, a majority of U.N. member nations have fewer people than the state of North Carolina, and this majority could be increased by an additional 50 to 100 members unless proposals like Plischke's are adopted. Many of these mini-states are in the Caribbean and South Pacific; Dr. Corkran explores the history and potential for regional cooperation among them as means to assure their survival and economic growth.