From the Outside Looking In: The Nordic States and the European Community after 1992

Abstract

Recent moves within the European Community (EC) toward closer economic, financial, and social union compel Scandinavian political elites to rethink their nations' ties with the EC. Denmark has been a member since 1972, but the remaining Scandinavian countries remain highly ambivalent toward the Community—the Norwegians because of a deeply rooted tradition of isolationism and the Swedes and the Finns because of their foreign policies of neutrality. Seeking to steer a middle course between extreme domestic viewpoints on optimal ties with the EC, Sweden, Norway, and Finland are likely to achieve de facto membership on the basis of unilateral and multilateral steps toward greater economic harmonization.