Introduction: Postimperial sovereignty games in the Nordic region

Abstract

Benevolence, homogeneity and peace has never been the full story of the Nordic region. Building on a critical review of myths of 'Norden' in international relations theory and beyond (international political economy, security studies, regional and European integration theory and postcolonialism), we develop the framework of postimperial sovereignty games for understanding contemporary Nordic foreign policy and regional dynamics. We shift focus from the 'large' Nordic countries to the remnants of Nordic empires: Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. On the one hand, these polities struggle to enhance their independence -Iceland even after becoming a sovereign state; the other polities via self-government arrangements. On the other hand, the former colonies develop close relationships to a supranational European Union in their effort to achieve independent subjectivity. Contrasting the developments towards increased independence and European integration, the article demonstrates the importance of imperial legacies. Firstly, it challenges Norden as a model security community. Secondly, it questions the image of a harmonious Nordic welfare model based on equality and consensus in light of the experiences of Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. Finally, it suggests that no theory of European integration is complete without taking imperial and postimperial processes into account.

Greenland’s Arctic advantage: Articulations, acts and appearances of sovereignty games

“…Thirdly, relations between the legal texts and the identity discourse are handled in diplomatic praxis as both articulations and acts , which can be analyzed through qualitative in-depth interviews with representatives of the case country revealing how they maintain relations in concrete everyday moves and how – and to what extent – strategies are employed (cf. Adler-Nissen and Gad, 2014: 22). In the present study, a total of 16 interviews have been conducted of which the eight interviews with civil servants working in Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nuuk – which counts a total 1 of 11 including the Minister and an intern – are particularly central.…”

“…Central to this analogy is that the common understanding between the involved actors depends on a system of shared rules: the constitutive rule defining the game is the traditional either/or understanding of sovereignty, while regulative rules may evolve as the game develops (cf. Aalberts, 2012: 92–95), hence potentially changing the criteria for participation in international agreements and modifying the roles of the players (Adler-Nissen and Gad, 2014: 18).…”

“…Aalberts, 2012: 94; Adler-Nissen and Gammeltoft-Hansen, 2008: 7). What is particularly central to postcolonial cases of sovereignty games is whether the former colony should be awarded any subjectivity as a player in the game and, through this, get the very possibility of articulating authority (Adler-Nissen and Gad, 2014: 20). As such the notion of ‘game’ fits within a constructivist perspective and has nothing to do with ‘game theory’ or similar rational choice approaches which reduce the game to the level of strategy and tactics where actors try to predict and act upon opponents’ expected moves.…”

“…A dependency, which the Government of Greenland uses to its own advantage resulting in more responsibility and authority (cf. Adler-Nissen and Gad, 2014: 20), hence enhancing Greenland’s sovereignty over its own foreign affairs.…”

Imperializing Norden

“…Having established that Denmark was indeed an empire in an analytical sense, in the second part I turn to one practical consequence of this, namely that not only Icelandic, Faroese and Greenlandic, but also Norwegian nationalisms are isomorphic to other European imperial breakaway identities in being derivative of the Danish one. Adler-Nissen and Gad (2014) highlight how Danish Grundtvigian nationalism has informed these 'post-Danish' breakaway nationalisms, which see the ideal relation between state, nation, language, culture, religion and economy as being one of total coincidence. A corollary of this is that the current post-Danish national identities are tied to Danish national identity by being founded on what Nietzsche termed 'ressentiment', meaning that they are a negative of the original positive.…”