Small States Security Dilemma: A Maldivian Perception

Small States Security Dilemma: A Maldivian Perception, deals with the piethora of security questions in general and the security problems of a Small Developing Island State in particular.  The concepts of security, both western and the developing world’s interpretations have been discussed.  The small state’s security concerns at the national, regional and international sectors have been analysed in detail in the first part of the book.  The Republic of Maldives, a small island state in the Indian Ocean has a unique status in the international arena.  Situated between India, Sri Lanka and Diego Garcia, the country has multiple security regions.  A holistic approach has been applied to analyse the security zones of this island state.  As far as security parameters are concerned the security of the country has been studied from Environmental Security, Socio-Political Security, Military Defence Security and Economic Security point of view.  Since there is a paucity of material on Maldivian Security, interviews of decision makers, opinion builders, private sector, media and the common people were taken to build the Maldivian perception on Security.  The second part of the book analyses the empirical research and the findings thereof.  This book is a maiden effort in documenting the security dilemma of the country.  Based on its history, its past experiences and present international scenario, this study deals with the core security problems and their solutions.  In the last section, a programme to enhance the security of the country at national, regional and global level has been put forth.