ABSTRACT
Norden', (tentatively defined as the region or subregion consisting of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland) is, or at least was, special. Its high geostrategic importance notwithstanding, the Nordic countries throughout the Cold War managed to keep the level of tension in their part of the world manageable. With the end of the Cold War, both the internal preferences and the context of Nordic security policies have changed quite dramatically. The most obvious criterion of 'regionness' is that of geographical proximity, as a region is usually held to consist of contiguous states. Regions might also be identified as such by a greater-than-average intensity of trade and/or other forms of economic interaction. Finally, regions might be defined by an above-average intensity of security political and military interaction either benign, as in alliances or regional collective security systems, or malign, as in arms races or wars.
