Clever leadership can transform a state’s smallness into an asset when promoting national and international interests at home and abroad. Good leadership skills are required to correctly prioritize and bargain in international surroundings. Small states need to defend their interest in their key sectors and within these sectors they need to be able to demonstrate leadership, offer clever solutions to problems, and wield positive influence. This can be achieved through consensus-forming, policy innovation and figure-heading external initiatives. It is thus vital for a small state to develop administrative competence in key areas and provide leaders with knowledge that will help them in taking initiative when needed and drive forward coalitions in issues the small state wants to move forward. Leadership skills are imperative to make this happen and secure successful diplomacy for a small state.

The 2019 Small States Summer School was organised from 10-15 June 2019 under the heading Leadership in Small States: An Introduction. This was the first intensive programme organised by the project and served as an introductory module to the other intensive programmes hosted in the project. Students were introduced to the two main concepts that this project focuses on - Small State Studies and Leadership Studies - and how they intertwine.