國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

This paper attempts to clarify small and medium states’ (SMSs) security strategies in the face of global power competition. It tries to explain SMSs’ versatile security choices between balancing and bandwagoning and analyses their path development. First, the author argues that the shift from balancing to bandwagoning is based on the effect of “hedging for profit,” which depicts the importance of economic dependency. Second, “hedging for security” is also the author’s idea for explaining why SMSs re-adjust their policies, and it explains the balance of threat. Finally, the changes in some SMSs’ security choices may not come from external factors; instead, political violence or revolution from within is another major factor in explaining causal relations. This article uses the cases of Serbia, Armenia and Ukraine as reference points for delineating different path developments.