Strategic cooperation between Nordic countries

Security doctrines and theories

Due to its tradition of multiform cooperation, Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Island, Norway and Sweden) is generally seen as a united and homogenous space. This image must not hide the weakness of Nordic cooperation in the strategic field. Indeed, beyond their attempts to overshoot, after the Cold War, the «Northern balance», by furthering their strategic and defence cooperation, Nordic countries remain quite divided on a strategic point of view, as their disagreements towards the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and in Iraq tend to show. This situation, which shakes the theses predicting the emergence of a global order based on cooperation, shows how much countries tend to favor their national interests over regional integration. – Summary AFRI-2005

Sophie ENOS-ATTALI

Docteur en Science politique, maîtresse de conférences à l’Institut catholique de Paris, chercheur associé au Centre Thucydide ainsi qu’à l’Institut de recherche stratégique de l’Ecole militaire (IRSEM), coordinatrice éditoriale de L’Année des relations internationales. Ses recherches portent principalement sur les politiques de sécurité des pays de la région nordico-baltique, ainsi que sur la neutralité. Elle a récemment publié, avec Cécile Dubernet, l’ouvrage Relations internationales chez Bruylant (collection Paradime-Manuels (sept. 2025, 29e édition). Les pays « neutres » d’Europe face à la guerre en Ukraine, L’Annuaire français de relations internationales 2023