Small States in a Big World: Size is Not Destiny

Best Non-fiction Title Finalist for the 2023 Singapore Book Awards

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan, more than a quarter of the 93 winning states were small ones.

The 25 countries and territories bagged 113 medals — about a third of the total tally of 340 medals awarded at the games, which had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic until 2021.

The disproportionately large haul of medals signifies that small states punch above their weight.

This is just one of the achievements by small states highlighted in Small States in a Big World: Size is Not Destiny.

The collection of 40 essays shows that despite their sizes, small states can play to their strengths and be successful in many aspects, including contributions to the world order and global security, economics, innovation, aviation, as well as sustainable and human development.

The essays are penned by 46 writers from 29 countries, all of which are members of the Forum of Small States (FOSS), each with a population of below 10 million.

Its membership has grown from only 16 in 1992, when it was established by Singapore, to 108 in 2022, which marks its 30th anniversary. Its members make up more than half the United Nations membership, gaining strength in numbers.

The book includes two forewords — one written by Madam Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, and the other written by Ms Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland.

The contributors from Singapore include: Dr Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the book’s editor; Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon; Mr Daren Tang, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS); Mr David Koh, Commissioner of Cybersecurity and Chief Executive of the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore; Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore; Ambassador Tan Hung Seng, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation and WIPO; and Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, the United States.

Other contributors include: Judge Abdul G. Koroma, a former Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) (1994–2012) from Sierra Leone; Judge Kathy-Ann Brown, a member of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, from Jamaica; Mr Rodolfo Solano Quiros, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Republic of Costa Rica; Ms Elizabeth Thompson, Barbados’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary with Responsibility for Climate Change, Small Island, and former Cabinet minister; and Mr Elijus Civilis, General Manager of Lithuania’s official agency for foreign direct investment, Invest Lithuania.