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functions deemed important to the organization’s overall mission means that small states
can pick and choose among myriad subtasks within policy committees and combined
military forces, keeping in mind their comparative advantage and their own geopolitical
priorities. Complexity should also take into account that the institution of NATO does
not operate in a vacuum. Denmark has made special use of the United Nations, and all
three of the small states in this study rationalized their NATO and European Union
policies, leveraging institutional competition to obtain better service from both
multilateral organizations. If current small state members can preserve enough
independence to occasionally surprise alliance heavyweights, then NATO expansion, by
welcoming and nurturing more small powers, raises the need for transatlantic
heavyweights, including the United States, to factor in the small state dynamic when
formulating their grand designs.