FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: THE NORDIC STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AFTER 1992
In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 512, S. 188-193
ISSN: 0002-7162
RECENT MOVES TOWARD CLOSER ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL, AND SOCIAL UNION WITHIN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (EC) ARE COMPELLING SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES TO RETHINK THEIR TIES WITH THE EC. DENMARK HAS BEEN AN EC MEMBER SINCE 1972, BUT THE OTHER NORDIC COUNTRIES REMAIN AMBIVALENT TOWARD THE COMMUNITY--THE NORWEGIANS BECAUSE OF A DEEPLY-ROOTED TRADITION OF ISOLATIONISM AND THE SWEDES AND FINNS BECAUSE OF THEIR POLICY 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 TOWARDS GREATER ECONOMIC HARMONIZATION.