"The spool is small, but expensive" is a truth that is quite applicable in geopolitics. History knows many examples when small and compact states achieved significant political and socio-economic successes, both in alliance with large countries and independently. And this is an interesting phenomenon of political science, the relevance of which does not decrease even in the 21st century.
There is no need to talk about which state — big or small — is definitely "better". On the one hand, a positive consequence of the small size is the small height of the governing hierarchy. It makes it easy to make difficult decisions quickly. The distance between the "top" and "bottom" is necessarily short, which promotes transparency and reduces the space for corruption. On the other hand, it is difficult for small states alone to influence the development of a global agenda, which in turn implies the creation of permanent or temporary alliances to advance national interests.
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