Abstract
This chapter introduces the book and lays out the main discussion in the literature to which the book aims to contribute. It overviews the current debate on small states in the international system and the role that international organisations may play in raising the capacity of small states to act externally.
It also outlines the debate on Europeanisation that analyses how membership of the European Union, and to some extent NATO, affects national policies and structures in the development of their security policies. In the last part, the chapter briefly introduces the chapters in this volume.