Singapore Gathers Small States at the UN
In 1992 Singapore co-founded the Forum of Small States, an informal UN grouping that now has 108 members, so that small countries can speak together.
Topics: politics, economics
Example
What happened: In 1992, Singapore, Barbados and Cabo Verde co-founded the Forum of Small States (FOSS), an informal, non-ideological grouping at the United Nations in New York. It now has 108 members from every region. In 2009 Singapore also set up the Global Governance Group (3G), about 30 small and medium-sized UN members that ask the G20 to consult the wider UN membership.
Use it for: small states can protect their interests by joining together inside international institutions, because one vote among many counts for more when many small countries vote and speak as a bloc.
Why it matters: a small country has little military or economic weight on its own, so it depends on rules that apply to big and small alike; groupings like FOSS and 3G give it a seat in the rooms where those rules are written.
Limit: FOSS is an informal forum, not a voting alliance: its 108 members often disagree, and it cannot stop a great power that chooses to ignore international law.
Key facts
- In 1992 Singapore, Barbados and Cabo Verde co-founded the Forum of Small States, an informal and non-ideological grouping of small states at the UN in New York.
- The Forum of Small States now has 108 members across all regions and levels of development.
- In 2009 Singapore set up the Global Governance Group, about 30 small and medium-sized UN members that push for the G20 to work more closely with the wider UN membership.
How to use this example in a GP essay
Can small states make a difference in international affairs?
Claim
small states can protect their interests by joining together inside international institutions, because one vote among many counts for more when many small countries vote and speak as a bloc
How the evidence supports it
a small country has little military or economic weight on its own, so it depends on rules that apply to big and small alike; groupings like FOSS and 3G give it a seat in the rooms where those rules are written
Limitation
FOSS is an informal forum, not a voting alliance: its 108 members often disagree, and it cannot stop a great power that chooses to ignore international law.
Relevance
Singapore is a small state, so this is the clearest local case for questions on small states, the United Nations and whether international cooperation still works.
Limitations
- FOSS is an informal forum, not a voting alliance: its 108 members often disagree, and it cannot stop a great power that chooses to ignore international law.
Evaluations
politics evaluation
Support
More than half of the 193 UN member states belong to FOSS, so when small states agree on an issue such as the law of the sea or climate finance, they can decide a General Assembly vote.
Counterargument
Numbers in the General Assembly do not translate into power in the Security Council, where five permanent members hold a veto; small states cannot outvote a veto.
Rebuttal
Small states do not need to beat great powers to matter. Their aim is narrower: to keep rules in place that restrain everyone, and on that aim coalitions have a real record.
Additional support
The 3G was created because decisions on the world economy were moving to the G20, a club Singapore is not a member of; it shows small states adapting to keep a voice where decisions move.
economics evaluation
Support
Small open economies depend on trade rules more than large ones, so they have a direct economic stake in keeping forums like the UN and the WTO working.
Counterargument
When large economies turn to tariffs and bilateral deals, as the US did in 2025, small states have little leverage, however well organised they are at the UN.
Rebuttal
That weakness is the reason the coalitions exist: they cannot prevent every shock, but they raise the cost for large economies of breaking rules that most countries still support.
Additional support
Through the 3G, small and medium economies asked the G20 to share information and consult before making decisions that affect countries outside the group.
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore: Small States