Citation

Mouritzen H. J. Peace Res. 1995; 32(1): 9-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0022343395032001002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article hypothesizes that the 'Nordic' model of society is primarily of Swedish origin, with the other Nordic countries as its first tier of followers. The idea of Nordic 'progressivity' has been a useful instrument in individual Nordic foreign policies - primarily as a 'bastion' in official rhetoric. Postwar examples of such usefulness are offered from three settings: the Nordic countries as a group in multilateral diplomacy, individual Nordic countries in multilateral diplomacy, and Nordic countries bilaterally in dealings with a great power. Whereas the Nordic bastion could still serve as a useful foreign policy instrument, it has actually been discreetly abandoned from 1991, as part of a deliberate policy on the part of Sweden. The symbol of stable innovation in Northern Europe is gone. The main reason for this abandonment lies in perceived Swedish national interests: how Sweden has chosen to adapt to the European Union. Domestic Swedish party polemics may also have played a (secondary) role. This abandonment has generally adverse implications for the foreign policies of the other Nordic countries, depending on which all-European scenario prevails. Prospects for a future revival of the Nordic bastion do not seem bright.