What are the Priorities for Small States in the International System?

There is no evidence that the vigorous political action needed to implement the recommendations of previous reports on the vulnerability of small states in the Commonwealth will be forthcoming in the near future. In matters of security, economics and particularly the environment, the collective interests of small states do not appear to have been recognized in the international community. Major donors find dealing with small individual demands from multiple small states difficult, but a regional approach simplifies matters and should be the primary area of concern. The Vulnerability Index provides an excellent measure of the economic and environmental vulnerability of all developing countries and underlines the particular vulnerabilities of small states but does not bring out their social, cultural and political vulnerabilities.