The travels of a concept across time and space: ‘Activism’ in the study of Scandinavian foreign policy

Abstract

Literature on Scandinavian foreign policy has presented activism as a common feature of the Scandinavian states. The assumption appears to be that there is an essence to Scandinavian activism. This article takes a different approach. Drawing on a performativity approach, it explores the meanings that have been ascribed to activism in the literature on the foreign policy of each of Scandinavian states since the 1960s. This is the main contribution of the article. The analysis finds that there are significant differences between the ways in which the concept has been performative in research about the three countries. In research on Norway and Sweden, activism has often been used to characterise substantial policy elements such as aid to the third world or a policy aiming for peace. In Denmark, activism has mainly been used to characterise procedural aspects of foreign policy, such as initiative-taking, but also international military engagements. However, there is an increasing convergence around understandings of activism as military engagements and engagements that raise the status of the country. It is argued that the continuous use of activism, despite the different meanings attributed to it, is embedded in a discourse on Scandinavian exceptionalism and its use in politics.