In Search of Security: Foreign Policy Change in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, 1988-1993

In connection with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Denmark, Finland and Sweden made changes in their foreign policies by increasing their commitments to Western security cooperation. During the Cold War, all three states sought the greatest possible freedom of action in their security cooperation with the West. This book investigates foreign policy change in these three small states between 1988 and 1993. This was a period of major shift in world politics, with the end of the Cold War, the rise of the European Union and the outbreak of the Gulf War and the Yugoslav Civil War. Against this background, the author examines Danish, Finnish and Swedish foreign policy regarding security cooperation within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Western European Union and the European Community. The author shows, in contrast to a large body of previous research, that small states pay rather equal attention to external and domestic considerations when making foreign policy. This book should be especially useful to researchers in International Relations or anyone else interested in the Nordic countries and small state foreign policy.