It fact the reverse is true if you critically examine how power works. At a most fundamental level, the ability to maintain a state is a matter of (1) maintaini

It fact the reverse is true if you critically examine how power works. At a most fundamental level, the ability to maintain a state is a matter of (1) maintaining a monopoly on violence inside your jurisdiction so you can collect tax revenue in return for orderly administration (2) maintaining sufficient degree of both benefit and deterrence towards outsiders so they don't invade you. In the modern high technology world, both (1) and (2) require increasingly higher investments to sustain advantage which favours bigger states. Small states have to work very hard on carrots on (2) in particular to avoid being trampled. Tax friendly small jurisdictions largely survive at the whim & fancy of the elites of the bigger countries whose private interests they serve. Tourism focused small countries face the same pressures of serving the elites of bigger countries and in fact were trampled during covid lockdowns. Small countries that can't make (2) work stay poor. The Ukraine conflict effectively demonstrates the point. Previously, Ukraine failed at (1) in the provinces which had high ethnic Russian populations and (2) by giving up nuclear weapons and giving up Crimea without a war which enabled the invasion. Even though it turns out Russia seems to have badly miscalculated it's ability to win, the war has dragged so long in spite of causing major global economic disruptions because no one else feels able to intervene due to the high technology Nuclear ICBM threat.