ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the foreign policies of the Nordic countries from the Cold War period to today, focusing on four elements: security, foreign policy behaviour, foreign policy vision, and important coalition actors. It aims to compare Danish defence policy with that of the other Nordic countries, and examines the engagement of all nations in recent peace operations. Foreign policies of the Nordic countries can be most easily explained by focusing on four key dimensions. These include: security; independent security; isolated security; and collective security. One reason for the militarily active Danish foreign and defence policy could be the point of departure or the ‘time lag’ of the three other Nordic countries. The chapter identifies three phases of Danish defence policy after World War II. These include: the Cold War symbolic-virtual warlike defence policy; and the post-9/11 defence policy which led to engagement in sheer war, sometimes without the acceptance of the UN Security Council.
