Multilateralism as small power strategy

In the field of security and defence we may expect little room for manoeuvre for smaller powers. This chapter examines Dutch strategies for exploiting the tight margins of manoeuvre, in the negotiations over a European army (1950–1952). It shows how multilateralism was a successful small power strategy. Acting as one bloc with the Benelux, the Netherlands was more successful than with unilateral action. Moreover, the chapter points at the interplay of different multilateral security networks within the Western Alliance. Far from being one monolithic bloc, these layered multilateral settings provided windows of opportunity for small power cooperation.