The Rise of Small Island Developing States in the Indo-Pacific

The Rise of Small Island Developing States in the Indo-Pacific analyses the region, not through the lens of major-power competition but from the perspective of four island states: Solomon Islands and Fiji in the Pacific Ocean and Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

This book challenges traditional realist conceptions of small states and prevailing dominant narratives that portray Small Island Developing States (SIDS), increasingly referred to as Large Ocean States (LOS), as peripheral actors constrained by limited power and agency. It redirects analytical attention towards island states that remain largely absent from mainstream accounts of international politics despite their growing geopolitical significance. Covering the period 2017–2026, this book combines thematic analysis of foreign policy documents with elite government interviews to examine how these islands have responded to intensifying geopolitical competition. It argues that they enact the roles of ‘pioneer’ and ‘activist-challenger,’ demonstrating that SIDS/LOS retain meaningful agency, even as the international order becomes increasingly contested.

This book advances an alternative framework for analysing their foreign policies, highlighting how island states exercise agency through strategies such as manipulation of interdependence, fluid partnerships and issue-specific engagement, together with sources of influence including strategic positioning, collective power, relational resources, narrative shaping and moral suasion. It also challenges the land-centric orientation of International Relations by incorporating ocean space and marine resources as important sources of influence and agency.

The Rise of Small Island Developing States in the Indo-Pacific will be of great interest to scholars and students of International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis and those studying Ocean or Maritime Studies, as well as Small State Studies and Contemporary History.