virtuous than the successor national elites, which is rarely the case.
As long as states are willing to cooperate in security alliances and engage in mutually beneficial trade, there is no reason why a small state like Portugal or Croatia should not be as viable as a great power like the United States. Indeed, smaller states may have advantages over the larger states within the context of economic progress "(contrast Singapore and Hong Kong with China). Instead of specializing in one or a few crops, like states in a federation or provinces in an empire, an independent nation can take steps to diversify its economy as a buffer against market shocks. A sovereign state can also have a certain amount of leverage in both economic and military diplomacy·an advantage denied to a region subordinated to a single capital."
Support for national self-determination does not equate to support for nationalism in its tyrannical or imperial manifestations. "It is important to draw a distinction between liberal and
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