Abstract
The chapter examines the relative weight attributed to NATO/Transatlantic cooperation and the EU in the dominant discourse of Danish foreign policy after the Cold War. During the Cold War, Danish foreign policy was seen as conducted through four cornerstones: the UN, NATO, the European Community, and Nordic cooperation. The four cornerstones each had a separate functional role and no single one was given priority. After the end of the Cold War, the importance of the EU cornerstone in Danish foreign policy has grown significantly. In the post-Cold War period, the functions of the four cornerstones have been understood as coming together in the EU. The chapter argues that the dominant discourse in Danish foreign policy and the policies that are enabled by this discourse have articulated the EU as essential and the key platform for Danish foreign policy. NATO and the US are also articulated as crucial, but mainly in the field of military security. The dominant discourse has reconciled the two sides by talking about a Euro-Atlantic Community. The conclusion is that Denmark has not understood itself as mainly exposed to a US or Atlantic polarity in the post-Cold War era; rather the EU has continuously been understood as the point of departure for Danish foreign policy. This discursive pattern can also be found in the wake of the challenges to the international order after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.However, after 2014 there is a stronger emphasis on the security role of NATO and the US and on the EU’s responsibility for the liberal world order.
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Larsen, H. (2022). The Discourse on the US/NATO and the EU in Danish Foreign Policy: The Language of Unipolarity?. In: Græger, N., Heurlin, B., Wæver, O., Wivel, A. (eds) Polarity in International Relations. Governance, Security and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05505-8_18
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