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Danish Foreign Policy: Continuity and Change in the Post-Cold War Period

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Foreign Policy Change in Europe Since 1991

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Abstract

Denmark is a small state which also includes the Faroes and Greenland as part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The analysis in this chapter shows that there were many degrees of change in Danish foreign policy after the Cold War, sometimes within the same policy areas. Drawing on Hermann’s typology, some changes were adjustment changes whereas others contained elements of change in international orientation. However, in three out of the four policy areas examined goal change was found to be the most appropriate category of change. As far as the drivers of change are concerned, there were numerous drivers at both the international and the domestic levels. Not surprisingly, the systemic changes at the international level seemed to have played a very considerable role in the immediate aftermath of 1989. The same is the case after 2001 and 2014. But there is also a specific Danish twist to it, which means that systemic changes have not always been translated into Danish foreign policy in a predictable way: drivers at the domestic level have played a significant role.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This section draws on Larsen (2020).

  2. 2.

    This section draws on Larsen (2020).

  3. 3.

    An environmental aid program which existed from 1993 to 2002.

  4. 4.

    Inspired by Pedersen og Ringsmose, activism is here understood as policies that go beyond the bare necessities and are voluntary rather imposed (Pedersen & Ringsmose, 2017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Henrik Larsen

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  1. Henrik Larsen
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Correspondence to Henrik Larsen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent Institute for International Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Jeroen K. Joly

  2. Ghent Institute for International Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Tim Haesebrouck

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Larsen, H. (2021). Danish Foreign Policy: Continuity and Change in the Post-Cold War Period. In: Joly, J.K., Haesebrouck, T. (eds) Foreign Policy Change in Europe Since 1991. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68218-7_4

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