ABSTRACT
In chapter seven, we saw how the representation of Britain as a political ‘lode-star’ in the Norwegian political discourse, strong in the 1950s and 1960s, gradually faded as the 1970s began. In the subsequent decades, Britain was often absent altogether from foreign policy debates in the Norwegian parliament. When Britain was occasionally referred to, it was often as ‘one among many’ partners and allies. What we saw was thus a very different pattern in representations than what we observed in the US–British case, where the representations of the US–British relationship as a ‘partnership’ and ‘friendship’ came across as remarkably stable over time. As for representations of Norway in the British political discourse, recurring images were those of a ‘friendly neighbour’ and ‘loyal ally’; but, in general, Norway was little mentioned. At least, this was the state of affairs before the British government in 2013 pledged an in/out referendum over EU membership, 1 and ‘the Norway model’ became a key point of reference in the public debate as to what future relations with the EU might look like.
