JOBS Journal on Baltic Security 2382-9230 2382-9222 BDC JOBS-3-2-JOBS-2017-0006 10.1515/jobs-2017-0006 Research Article Security Strategies of Small States in a Changing World Vaicekauskaitė Živilė Marija zivile.marija.vaicekauskaite@gmail.com ∗ a master’s degree in European Studies from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University. Živilė currently serves as a chairperson of the board of the Lithuanian Atlantic Treaty Association and as a young researcher for the project on Small States and the New Security Environment (SSANSE) which is funded by NATO’s Science for Peace Programme. Corresponding author. 3 2 7 15 21 12 2017 01 11 2017 16 11 2017 Open Access. © 2017 Živilė Marija Vaicekauskaitė This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

How are small states adjusting to a changing security environment and managing tensions with

greater powers in their neighbourhood? Much of the recent literature on small states spends a great deal

of time examining challenges to small states and their security policies. Scholars offer several strategies

that small states can employ to adjust to a changing security landscape. Small states have two broad

options – to focus on their own defence posture, trying to keep their autonomy and stay neutral, or use

different cooperative schemes – bandwagon with larger powers, form alliances against dominant powers,

or seek shelter and develop hedging strategies. This article reviews survival strategies employed by small

states and provides a basis to better understand the behaviour of small states in today’s contested security

environment.

 small state security strategies alliance