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Devolution and Withdrawal: Denmark and the North Atlantic, 1800–2100

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Abstract

The history of the North Atlantic encompasses the Kingdoms of Norway, Denmark — Norway and Denmark since 1814. These kingdoms have faced geopolitical pressures in the North Atlantic, especially since the Napoleonic Wars. Together with internal national-liberal pressures of national awakening, calls for self-determination have shaped the development of the Kingdom of Denmark in the North Atlantic. Iceland developed through a national awakening in the 1840s from a self-government to a sovereignty in 1918 and subsequently a republic in 1944. The Faroe Islands obtained home rule in 1948, Greenland in 1979. Both home rules were expanded in 2005 and Greenland transformed to self-rule in 2009. The Kingdom of Denmark will continue to be marked by devolution and withdrawal far into the 21st century.

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© 2014 Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen

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Bertelsen, R.G. (2014). Devolution and Withdrawal: Denmark and the North Atlantic, 1800–2100. In: Heininen, L. (eds) Security and Sovereignty in the North Atlantic. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137470720_2

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