Norway's, Finland's, Sweden's and Denmark's flags against a background with both blue skies and threatening clouds

Researchers present new reports on security policy choices by the Nordic countries

The choices made by Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden relating to foreign policy and security policy, from the war in Georgia in 2008 up to and including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year, show both similarities and differences. This is shown in four new reports written by, among others, Douglas Brommesson, professor of political science at Linnaeus University.

“What stands out is the fact that the Nordic dimension has been given such varying importance between the different countries. Despite the fact that the Nordic countries are often described as being very much alike, they have made different choices concerning their foreign policy and security policy. However, now, when security is put under pressure, they are drawing closer to each other in their security policy decisions.”

This is said by Douglas Brommesson, who is professor of political science at Linnaeus University. Together with Ann-Marie Ekengren at University of Gothenburg and Anna Michalski at Uppsala University, he has written four short reports, so-called policy briefs. The reports describe Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish decisions relating to foreign policy and security policy. They cover the period from the war in Georgia in 2008 up until the Russian invasion of Ukraine a few months ago.

“What all four countries have in common is that they have moved closer to each other in a stronger support for integration within the EU concerning security policy and defense policy. We can also see a common movement towards a greater significance of Nato in the security policies of all four countries”, Brommesson explains.

Brommesson means that it is difficult to speculate about what the collaboration between the countries will look like in the future.

“Up until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we could see a stronger emphasis on the Nordic collaboration in Finland, in Sweden, and partly also in Norway. However, less so in Denmark. What things will look like following the Russian invasion we do not know, but one possibility is that the Nordic collaboration now finds new paths, for instance, within the framework of Nato”, Brommesson continues.

The new reports have been written within the framework of the research project New roles in a hostile world?. In this project, Brommesson and his two colleagues study the challenges that the Nordic states are facing when it comes to balancing their normative, liberal ideals with the need for military security.

The reports have been published by The Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) and are highly topical considering how quickly the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed the world situation. They are aimed at decision-makers and other researchers, as well as the interested general public.

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