Editing Microstate (section)

== Politics ==
Statistical research has shown that microstates are more likely to be [[Democracy|democracies]] than larger states. In 2012, [[Freedom House]] classified 86% of the countries with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants as "free".<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Veenendaal |first=Wouter P. |date=2015 |title=Democracy in microstates: why smallness does not produce a democratic political system |journal=Democratization |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=92–112 |doi=10.1080/13510347.2013.820710 |issn=1351-0347}}</ref> This shows that countries with small populations often had a high degree of [[political freedom]] and [[civil liberties]], which is one of the hallmarks of democracies. Some scholars have taken the statistical correlation between small size and democracy as a sign that smallness is beneficial to the development of a democratic political system,<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Anckar |first=Dag |date=July 2004 |title=Regime choices in microstates: the cultural constraint |journal=Commonwealth & Comparative Politics |language=en |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=206–223 |doi=10.1080/1466204042000299263 |issn=1466-2043}}</ref> mentioning [[Group cohesiveness|social cohesiveness]], opportunities for direct communication and homogeneity of interests as possible explanations for why this is the case.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Corbett |first=Jack |date=January 2015 |title="Everybody knows everybody": practising politics in the Pacific Islands |journal=Democratization |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=51–72 |doi=10.1080/13510347.2013.811233 |issn=1351-0347|hdl=10072/60226 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:General hotel.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|[[Seychelles]] in the [[Indian Ocean]], the smallest independent country in [[Africa]] with {{convert|459|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}]]
[[Case study]] research, however, has led some researchers to believe that the statistical evidence belies the anti-democratic elements of microstate politics.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Erk |first1=Jan |last2=Veenendaal |first2=Wouter |date=July 2014 |title=Is Small Really Beautiful?: The Microstate Mistake |journal=Journal of Democracy |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=135–148 |doi=10.1353/jod.2014.0054 |issn=1086-3214}}</ref> Due to small populations, family and personal relations are often decisive in microstate politics. In some cases, this impedes neutral and formal decision-making and instead leads to undemocratic political activity, such as [[clientelism]], [[corruption]], [[Political particularism|particularism]] and [[Elective dictatorship|executive dominance]].<ref name=":6" />

The high number of democracies amongst microstates could be explained by their colonial history.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> Most microstates adopted the same political system as their colonial ruler.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Anckar |first=Dag |date=February 2008 |title=Microstate Democracy: Majority or Consensus; Diffusion or Problem-Solving? |journal=Democratization |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=67–85 |doi=10.1080/13510340701768158 |issn=1351-0347}}</ref> Because of the high number of microstates that were [[Great Britain|British]] colonies in the past, microstates often have a [[Majoritarianism|majoritarian]] and [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] political system similar to the [[Westminster system]].<ref name=":7" /> Some microstates with a history as British colony have implemented some aspects of a [[Consensus democracy|consensus]] political system, to adapt to their geographic features or societal make-up.<ref name=":8" /> While the colonial history often determines what political systems microstates have, they do implement changes to better accommodate their specific characteristics.

=== Microstates and international relations ===
Microstates often rely on other countries in order to survive, as they have a small military capacity and a lack of resources. This had led some to believe that microstates are forced to subordinate themselves to larger states which reduces their [[sovereignty]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Sharman |first=J.C. |date=October 2017 |title=Sovereignty at the Extremes: Micro-States in World Politics |journal=Political Studies |language=en |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=559–575 |doi=10.1177/0032321716665392 |issn=0032-3217|hdl=10072/353417 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, research has shown that microstates strategically engage in [[Clientelism|patron-client relationships]] with other countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Veenendaal |first=Wouter P. |date=2017 |title=Analyzing the Foreign Policy of Microstates: The Relevance of the International Patron-Client Model |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |language=en |pages=561–577 |doi=10.1111/fpa.12068}}</ref> This allows them to trade some privileges to countries that can advance their interests the most. Examples of this are microstates that establish a [[tax haven]] or sell their support in international committees in exchange for military and economic support.<ref name=":9" />