ABSTRACT
The study of the European micro-states is unfamiliar to many scholars and students of international relations because the former are very small, have very little power, offer no significant threat to others and are often viewed as being somewhat anachronistic. The Scandinavian political scientist, Dag Anckar argues that the usual criterion for defining micro-states is a population of less than one million people. Membership of the UN codifies and reinforces the status of statehood and is also important in terms of being recognized by the international community. Andorra lies in the Pyrenean Mountains between France and Spain and is a well-known destination for skiers, though it also has a small tobacco-growing industry. Cyprus is an island state and former British colony in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a population almost reaching one million. Luxembourg as a capital city of the EU in the heart of Western Europe, has gained a high level of economic stability and wealth.