ABSTRACT
As is the case in many aspects of social and economic policy, Scandinavian countries are often perceived to be 'different' in terms of how they handle security and defence matters. The Scandinavian countries had diverging strategic ties during the Cold War and pursued different alliance strategies after 1989. This becomes most apparent in each of their institutional and political choices with respect to NATO and the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as the main security governance structures in the Euro-Atlantic sphere. There are significant and persistent differences between the Scandinavian countries, not only in terms of their strategic choices but also in view of their strategic cultures, their respective security identities, their strategic outlooks and their specific involvement in cooperative defence projects. This chapter deals with accounts of each country's defence and alliance policy and examines the historical context before turning to their contemporary political conduct, defence posture and strategic outlook.
