ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses one of the biggest gaps in the study of Danish security policy during the Cold War: Denmark’s security policy in the mid-and late 1960s. The defining characteristic of this policy was the steady search for a relaxation of tension between East and West. Most significantly, the Danish government actively supported NATO’s efforts to reduce international tensions. This was Denmark’s diplomatic moment of glory. In Danish historiography, two cases in particular are generally seen as the most prominent examples of Denmark’s political initiative and groundwork for a more active NATO policy of détente: first, the suggestion made by Denmark in 1966 that NATO take the initiative in organizing a conference on European security; and second, Denmark’s active participation in the process leading up to NATO’s adoption of the Harmel formula in 1967, according to which détente supplemented the former twin goals of the NATO alliance: defense and deterrence.
