The Illusory Nordic Alternative to Europe

Abstract

Debate and research on Nordic governmental cooperation has for long been premised on the assumption that the impelling forces behind such cooperation are to be found inside the Nordic countries themselves. Nordic cooperation has been regarded as an alternative to Europe. This article proceeds from the assumption that international or external factors have to be taken more into consideration. They form a framework for the political activities of the Nordic countries and could be characterized as long-term factors. Other relevant long-term factors are economic, industrial, and social structures of the Nordic countries. Considering these external and long-term factors does not imply disregarding internal factors and day-to-day events or current affairs, short-term factors. The three dichotomies external/internal, long-term/short-term, and economic/political factors are used as tools of analysis. A systematic use of the concepts leads to the conclusion that external political and economic long-term factors operate centrifugally on Nordic cooperation. Internal political factors have occasionally worked for Nordic cooperation. Yet these internal political factors, as a rule of a short-term kind, have been exceeded by the stronger external political and economic factors of a long-term kind. There has been no independent Nordic alternative to Europe. This conclusion is based on a long historical perspective.