ABSTRACT
Norway’s ban on nuclear weapons followed a similar two-stage sequence. The Norwegian government voiced no objections when in 1954 the North Atlantic Council made the crucial decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Western Europe to compensate for the Soviet’s superiority in conventional forces. The economic, political, and strategic conditions under which NATO’s sixteen members operate are so different in kind and character that an attempt to compare across the board may not be very fruitful. The total and permanent bans on allied bases and nuclear weapons were supplemented with some additional local restrictions which made certain parts of North Norway off limits for allied forces exercising in Norway. Comparing today’s political situation with what it was a decade ago, there is little doubt that Norway is witnessing a gradual polarization, with a left-leaning socialist group on the one side and a centre-oriented nonsocialist group on the other.
