Vassal State

By Deane Barker • •

This is exact opposite of a Suzerainty.

A vassal state is the subservient/smaller state in a mutually obligatory political relationship. When a smaller, weaker nation cozies up to a larger, more powerful nation, it’s termed a vassal state, much like vassals were subjects of a kingdom’s power and protection in medieval times.

“Vassal” is literally Old French for “subject, subordinate, servant.”

Why I Looked It Up

In a news article about the invasion of Ukraine –

Ukraine is about the size of Texas, bordered by Russia to the east and a Pro-Putin, Russian vassal state of Belarus to the north.

Links from this – Suzerainty October 28, 2021

From Wikipedia : […] a relationship in which one state or other polity controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. The dominant state is called the “suzerain”. This seems to be a fairly historical term. There doesn’t…

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