Danish Security Policy

Abstract

Denmark is a small and extremely vulnerable state. It is situated at the intersection of the bipolar global system and the multipolar West European subsystem. Danish security policy has been formulated along the following three principal lines: (1) Cooperation, i.e. practical cooperative relations between states (furthering mutual understanding, confidence, and peace); (2) detente and negotiation; and (3) defense, i.e. the cooperation between the national Danish defense and the Western defense. This article discusses the effects on Denmark of general international trends in the 1970s and 1980s. Three forms of security policy are dealt with: (1) the official declaratory policy; (2) the military policy and the military apparatus; and (3) planning and analyzing activities. Although Danish security policy is characterized by continuity, certain recent changes are identified. Another basic feature of Danish security policy is the remarkably stable political consensus ever since the approval of the Atlantic Treaty in 1949. Recent years, however, have witnessed increased politicization of security matters.