ABSTRACT
Since 1949, the Nordic countries have maintained the broad patterns of the security policies they adopted in the 1948-9 period, though they have naturally undergone some refinement. Finland signed a Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union in 1948 which committed it to preventing any attack on the Soviet Union through Finnish territory by Germany or its allies. The European NATO member most affected by the growth of the Soviets’ presence in and around Northern Waters is Norway. When turning to the political response to the Soviet presence in Northern Waters, it should be noted that it is difficult to determine to what extent political activities have been determined by domestic or external factors, or whether one particular event has affected political action more than another. Thus, the Soviet military presence in the far north has evinced the response of a greater military effort in the region by Norway, Iceland, Denmark and their allies.
