Multinational Operations and Small Nations

With Lithuania as case in point, this thesis utilizes extensive primary and secondary materials to examine the pros and cons inherent in the participation of small nations in multinational operations. The examination begins with a discussion of the nature of multinational operations with an emphasis on their diplomatic and military aspects. The larger theoretical context relies heavily on neorealist approaches and definitions to establish perspective, framework, and terminology. As the treatment shifts from theory to application, increasing emphasis falls on Lithuania as a small nation and on its relations with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. These latter entities provide both the impulse and likely organizational context for potential Lithuanian participation in multinational operations. The same actors and circumstances afford a near-classic example of relations between superpower actors and small and weak actors within the international system. The core of the thesis rests on a balanced assessment and analysis of the pluses and minuses, including opportunities and threats, associated with the participation of Lithuania in US- and NATO-led multinational operations. A major conclusion, resting on the criteria of feasibility, acceptability, and suitability, holds that such operations largely coincide with the interests and policies of both the minor and major actors.

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