Abstract
In international relations small states are either discarded as irrelevant, unimportant, or weak;
held in high regard as potential movers and shakers in especially smart or niche diplomacy
areas; powerful in blocs; or as a non-classification, that is undeserving of a unique type separate
from the world body of states. Regardless of varying perceptions, small states exist and more
so, they exist with foreign policies. This study examines what drives the foreign policies of the
southern African small states of Botswana, the Comoros, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, the
Seychelles and Swaziland. It finds that state size is important in shaping the foreign policies of
these southern African small states but that it is not mutually exclusive from other typical
domestic and international determinants which play roles in conditioning most states’ foreign
policies. Moreover, defence of national interest features as a common and undeniable primary
foreign policy objective of these states.