III. The Nordic Region

Abstract

The Nordic Region is peaceful and prosperous, with few internal or international conflicts. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have many similarities in culture, traditions and social structure. The five countries cooperate extensively in almost all sectors of private and public affairs. The Nordic Council, with its multiple committees and forums at the governmental, ministerial and even parliamentary levels, plays a significant role in promoting cohesion. Although defence is not explicitly a focus of the Nordic Council, the last few years have witnessed increased cooperation in the areas of operations, logistics and information sharing. The Nordic countries find cooperation valuable as an objective in itself, but especially as a means for strengthening defence within the larger Western security framework. Lately, both Finland and Sweden have deepened their ties with NATO, and the US specifically. Indeed, each of the Nordic countries have strengthened their bilateral relations with each other and other Western states since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Prospects for further Nordic cooperation are bright but have limitations in practice as neither Finland nor Sweden is likely to join NATO in the near future. Thus, cooperation will focus on common exercises and training, and on collaboration in international operations and crisis management, while agreements on procurement of military equipment will probably remain relatively rare. This chapter focuses on defence and security cooperation in the Nordic area, providing context, identifying challenges and suggesting possibilities for the way forward.