Abandonment vs. Entrapment: Denmark and Military Integration in Europe 1948-1951

Abstract

Petersen, N. Abandonment vs. Entrapment: Denmark and Military Integration in Europe 1948-1951. Cooperation and Conflict, XXI, 1986, 169-186.

The article analyses Danish attitudes towards NATO integration in the early years of the alliance in a perspective derived from alliance theory. In particular, Glenn Snyder's hypotheses on the motivations which drive the 'alliance game', i.e. intra-alliance relations, are utilized in analysing the Danish Government's reaction to the US proposal of September 1950 to create a joint, integrated force including German contingents for the defence of Western Europe. It is shown that both fears of 'entrapment' in the alliance and fears of 'abandonment' by the Allies played a significant role in the deliberations of Danish decision-makers, but that the fear of abandonment or, expressed positively, the demand for security outweighed both fears of losing freedom of action and fears of a German rearmament. The article highlights especially the role which Denmark's practically undefended border to the south played in the formulation of security policy in the 1950s.