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Conclusion: The Small Will Do What They Can!

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Abstract

This concluding chapter has two goals to achieve. First, in response to the increasing scholarly interests among the Western and non-Western academic circles to make the sociological works of Pierre Bourdieu relevant to international relations, I will highlight the main advances that this book has made. Secondly, I will decipher the genealogy of another geostrategic shift—US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ statecraft—and anticipate its implications to the small powers. My concluding position is that as far as the small powers will stick with the critical realist position, their national interests will be safeguarded whatever the future change will be. This habitus-informed critical realism position will enable the small powers to remake destinies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Sources: (1) ‘Russia Beats Saudi Arabia as China’s Top Crude Oil Supplier in 2016’. Reuters. 23 January 2017. (2) ‘俄國上月對華出口原油破頂成最大供應國。’ 信報財經新聞。23 June 2017.

  2. 2.

    Sources: (1) ‘Rex Tillerson: “America First” Means Divorcing Our Policy from Our Values’. The Guardian. 3 May 2017. (2) ‘Here’s What “America First” Means at the Rex Tillerson State Department’. Reuters. 4 May 2017. (3) ‘“America First” Foreign Policy May Mean Ignoring Human Rights, Rex Tillerson Says’. Vice News. 3 May 2017. (4) ‘Rex Tillerson Spells out US Foreign Policy’. The Atlantic. 3 May 2017.

  3. 3.

    Sources: (1) Krishnadev Calamur (2017). ‘A Short History of “America First”’. The Atlantic. 21 January 2017. (2) Lily Rothman (2016). ‘The Long History behind Donald Trump’s “America First” Foreign Policy’. Time. 28 March 2016. (3) Susan Dunn (2016). ‘Trump’s “America First” Has Ugly Echoes from U.S. History’. CNN News. 28 April 2016.

  4. 4.

    Source: ‘Trump Declines to Affirm NATO’s Article 5’. The Atlantic. 25 May 2017.

  5. 5.

    Sources: (1) ‘Trump Will Withdraw U.S. from Paris Climate Agreement’. New York Times. 1 June 2017. (2) ‘Donald Trump Confirms Withdrawal from Paris Agreement on Climate Change in Huge Blow for Global Deal’. The Independent. 1 June 2017.

  6. 6.

    Source: ‘America First Doesn’t Mean America Alone’. The Wall Street Journal. 30 May 2017.

  7. 7.

    Sources: (1) ‘US Ambassador to India Ashley Tellis? All You Need to Know about Mumbai-born Strategic Expert’. First Post. 10 January 2017. (2) ‘Trump Could Make Obama's Pivot to Asia a Reality’. Washington Post. 8 January 2017. (3) ‘Ashley Tellis : From a Bandra Boy to Trump’s Probable Pick for US Envoy to India’ Hindustan Times. 11 January 2017.

  8. 8.

    Sources: (1) Kenneth Juster Set to be New US Ambassador to India: All You Need to Know about Richard Verma’s Successor’. First Post. 22 June 2017. (2) ‘Trump Aid Kenneth Juster Set to be Next US Ambassador to India’. Hindustan Times. 22 June 2017. (3) ‘Kenneth Juster to U.S. Ambassador to India’. The Hindu. 21 June 2017.

  9. 9.

    Source: 「奧巴馬再度訪印鞏固兩國關係。」金融時報中文版。2015年1月23日。.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, BA2 7AY, UK

    Pak Nung Wong

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Wong, P. (2018). Conclusion: The Small Will Do What They Can!. In: Destined Statecraft. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6563-7_8

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