Even a massive nation like America needs allies, so a small one is going to need them even more.

Sure, there is always the chance that someone bigger will take over in some way, but what else is a small country going to do? That's just life. They can't get along alone, so they have to seek out alliances of many kinds - political, military, trade, educational, etc. You just have to choose your partners carefully, and hope they don't undergo a major political shift, and suddenly become predatory.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what's happened with America.