‘Wandering on a foreign strand!’ - foreign relations and trade policies of Malta and Iceland, 1964-2004

ABSTRACT The paper compares the foreign relations and trade policies of Iceland and Malta and policy reforms in 1964–2004, and the global economic and political context within which they evolved. In a historical comparative perspective, Malta and Iceland exhibited contrasting political processes and electoral systems, dissimilar economic structures and natural resource abundancies and antipodal locations with different foreign security considerations. Their economic structures, policies and institutions became more akin in the 21st century as a result of their participation in the growing economic and political cooperation of Europe.