How may we explain Nepal’s foreign policy behavior and strategy? The case of a weak and small state in the international system and its foreign policy behavior and strategy

Abstract: This paper focuses on the foreign policy behavior and strategy of weak and small states in the international system. Further, it explains the behavior and strategies employed by those states by examining several concepts and theories and applying them on the case of Nepal. In a realist world and among states that are most interested in their own integrity and survival, and partly in maximizing their power, weak and small states like Nepal try to keep a neutral position between all actors, try to maintain and extend bilateral relations to the immediate neighbors and other actors in the international system, and further integrate themselves into regional and international frameworks to secure their survival. Because they are the most vulnerable actors, the study of those states and their behavior and strategies is both interesting and compelling. Methodologically, this paper employs interviews as the main source of data and additionally peruses the foreign policy reports of Nepal from the last five years (2015-2019). The data is being analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. After studying the case and its implications, the author suggests that especially geographic patterns are important to understand the foreign policy of weak and small states, and further neutrality and bilateral as well as multilateral relations are indispensable for those actors to secure their integrity and survival in the international system.