ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will discuss the import of ‘pragmatic foreign policy’ vis-àvis great power politics. In particular, I will look at how small states can avoid triggering such wars as that between Russia and Georgia in 2008 which are not in the interests of the countries involved or any of the great powers in the wider European society of states. In the theoretical sense, I will seek to substantiate and extend Hedley Bull’s (1977) idea of ‘great power management’ to take better into account the roles that small powers can play in the maintenance of regional order. This is especially important in the context of contemporary Europe, where small powers are more numerous and enjoy more leeway than at the time Bull was writing.
