Danish Neutrality : A Study in the Foreign Policy of a Small State

This account of Danish foreign policy from 1720 to 1990 analyzes the ideas and attitudes behind each version of neutrality, discussing foreign policy in terms of idealism and realism, and exploring the conflict between disengagement from and involvement in international politics.

This analytical account of Danish foreign policy from 1720 to 1990 is the first scholarly treatment of the subject in any language. Historically Danish policy, essentially the reaction of a small state to potential or actual conflict among great powers, has presented a succession of different versions of neutrality. Analysing the ideas and tracing the attitudes behind each version, the author discusses the policy in terms of idealism and realism. The focus is on the neutralist tendencies that occasionally have marked Danish security policy in the years of NATO membership. The book also includes an account of the new commitment to alliance solidarity and European union which has characterized Danish policy towards NATO and EEC since the revolutions in Eastern Europe and the breaching of the Berlin Wall, and concludes with some speculations about Danish foreign policy in the near future. The central theme of the book is disengagement from or involvement in international politics.