摘要: What explains small states'evolving role in the post-Cold War international politics?This dissertation answers this question by analyzing the key factors behind the rising significance of small states in both regional and global i... 展开 What explains small states'evolving role in the post-Cold War international politics?This dissertation answers this question by analyzing the key factors behind the rising significance of small states in both regional and global institutions.It also examines the linkages among these factors and theoretically explains their contributions as well as limitations.By employing the qualitative method of social research and the case study design,the dissertation tastes the hypothesis that,the development of the practices of rules,norms and institutions in the post-Cold War international relations as well as the corresponding geostrategic as well as geoeconomic significance of Bangladesh and Singapore have been contributing to their evolving role as small states in the contemporary international politics. The existing literature on the role of small states represent the conventional wisdom that,the transition of world politics from unipolarity to multipolarity,the spread of globalization,and the rise of transnational connectivity remain some of the major contributing forces to the progress of global and regional institutions in the post-Cold War era,which have brought qualitative developments to the contemporary world politics and granted small states to enjoy a greater foreign policy autonomy as well as to grasp larger opportunities for strengthening their national developments.While supporting this conventional wisdom,the findings of the study establish an additional argument that,significant geopolitical locations and geoeconomic characteristics often place some small states in a better position for playing an efficient role in global and regional institutions,and thereby extracting larger benefits from the evolving structure of world politics. The findings of the dissertation also point out that,small states'activism in regional organizations somewhat provides impetus for their rising significance in global institutions.The case studies of Bangladesh and Singapore,as explanatory variables,provide the utility of the core arguments offered by the study.With numerous examples,the dissertation shows that,the post-Cold War international political structure has been favorable to Bangladesh and Singapore in employing their geopolitical and geoeconomic advantages with regard to play more efficient role in global and regional organizations. 收起