Small Island States: Vulnerable, Resilient, Doggedly Perseverant or Cleverly Opportunistic?

Abstract

While ever facing risks and vulnerabilities, small island states continue impress with a wily and adroit commercialisation of imaginative ‘resources’: these include discrete tax shelters, citizenship, internet domains, philately, generic drugs, place-branded goods and geostrategic services (including tourism). However, the option to migrate is increasingly fraught by the regulations of the receiving countries, wary of heightened security concerns, stagnating economies and rising xenophobia. Comparisons with subnational island jurisdictions, which treasure their autonomy but are not interested in full sovereignty, are instructive.

Keywords

• island states
• subnational island jurisdictions
• development
• governmentality