The term paper Question is:
When making alliance decisions, middle eastern states usually balance threats rather than aggregate power, discuss.
Here some of the questions that i came up with to help me building up my paper, but you can put from your side as well.
- What are the assumptions of the policy of neutrality?
- Which strategy, alliance or neutrality, is the most effective for gulf states?
- How do states identify threats when choosing alliance partners?
- what do the different international relations approaches say about small states foreign policy?
Also some books i found while doing some of the research:
1-Rothstein, Robert L. (1968). alliances and small powers. new York: Colombia University press.
2-Elman, Miriam Fendus. (1995). the foreign policies of the small states: Challenging neorealism in its own backyard. British journal of political science 25
3-walt,stephen M., the origins of alliances, Cornell university press. 1987.
4-Hey, Jeanne A. K. (2003). small states in world politics: Explaining foreign policy behaviour.
Note: My course main book is: Introduction to international relations-theories and approaches fifth edition. Robert Jackson &Georg Sorensen.