Introduction Small States in World Markets (SSWM) by Peter Katzenstein (1985) is a major work. At the time of writing this article, SSWM yields 3493 citations on Google Scholar. Since its publication, SSWM has inspired many lines of research and equipped scholars with new ways of thinking about issues in comparative and international political economy. In particular, Katzenstein managed to draw attention to small countries which had been neglected by previous scholars (Ingebritsen 2010). In his review of contemporary study of political economy, Mark Blyth (2009, p. 194) names SSWM as one of the three founding texts of the field, along with Peter (1986) and Peter Politics in Hard times Gourevitch’s (1986). Governing the Economy Hall’s Question is: how well does the theoretical framework of SSWM travel? Does it still apply a quarter of a century since its inception? In his own revisit of SSWM in 2003, Katzenstein recognized that while he had carefully delimited his investigation to seven early industrializers of the the Netherlands, Western ‘core’ nations (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland), his conclusions could be potentially fruitfully applied and tested in other could have pushed further by investigating, in addition, the contexts: ‘analysis strategies of other small states situated differently in the world 2003, economy’ (Katzenstein p. 13). Subsequent literature generally confirms insights in different Katzenstein’s temporal and geographical settings. According to Eric Jones (2008, p. 8), ‘Katzenstein’s thesis about small states and world The Baltic markets remains relatively unchallenged’. countries make a compelling case for testing the arguments of framework. Katzenstein’s Firstly they are small - indeed, they are smaller than the seven of SSWM. Recently, ‘dwarfs’ their smallness and vulnerability was painfully exposed by a very severe economic crisis in 2008-2010. Secondly, the Baltic countries seem to pose a challenge for Katzenstein’s
Introduction Small States in World Markets (SSWM) by Peter Katzenstein (1985) is a major work. At the time of writing this article, SSWM yields 3493 citations on Google Scholar. Since its publication, SSWM has inspired many lines of research and equipped scholars with new ways of thinking about issues in comparative and international political economy. In particular, Katzenstein managed to draw attention to small countries which had been neglected by previous scholars (Ingebritsen 2010). In his review of contemporary study of political economy, Mark Blyth (2009, p. 194) names SSWM as one of the three founding texts of the field, along with Peter Gourevitch’s Politics in Hard times (1986) and Peter Hall’s Governing the Economy (1986). Question is: how well does the theoretical framework of SSWM travel? Does it still apply a quarter of a century since its inception? In his own revisit of SSWM in 2003, Katzenstein recognized that while he had carefully delimited his investigation to seven early industrializers of the Western ‘core’ nations (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland), his conclusions could be potentially fruitfully applied and tested in other contexts: ‘analysis could have pushed further by investigating, in addition, the strategies of other small states situated differently in the world economy’ (Katzenstein 2003, p. 13). Subsequent literature generally confirms Katzenstein’s insights in different temporal and geographical settings. According to Eric Jones (2008, p. 8), ‘Katzenstein’s thesis about small states and world markets remains relatively unchallenged’. The Baltic countries make a compelling case for testing the arguments of Katzenstein’s framework. Firstly they are small - indeed, they are smaller than the seven ‘dwarfs’ of SSWM. Recently, their smallness and vulnerability was painfully exposed by a very severe economic crisis in 2008-2010. Secondly, the Baltic countries seem to pose a challenge for Katzenstein’s