system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do micro-states like San Marino, Andorra or Liechtenstein maintain their independence while being surrounded by states much more powerful than them?
gpt
The overwhelming majority of European micro-states and city-states didn't manage to maintain their independence, and did indeed get swallowed up by the larger countries that surrounded them. For example Venice, Naples, Ragusa, Krakow, Danzig, and Saar, among many others, all of which are now part of large European countries.

The few that remain have been fortunate enough to keep their independence into the modern era, when countries don't usually go around invading weaker countries just because they can.

How did these micro-states manage to survive? Either by being very wealthy (in the case of Monaco, Liechtenstein, and Vatican City) and hence being able to pay off potential invaders,  or insignificant and difficult to get to (in the case of Andorra).