Transformed beyond recognition? The politics of post-neutrality

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Agius
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
Globalizing World ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Soft Security

The transition from neutrality to post-neutrality has been debated by constructivists and rationalists alike as a seemingly logical and unproblematic move: the end of the Cold War and the widening of the security agenda in a globalizing world have meant that a state-centric approach to security is no longer viable or desirable. The former neutrals are subsequently reconfiguring their security policies to reflect this development and contributing to European and NATO security initiatives, and at the same time contributing their own unique ‘soft security’ experiences and practices. This article aims to problematize this seemingly smooth move from neutrality to post-neutrality by examining the discourses deployed to facilitate this change. Arguing that there is a politics of post-neutrality at work, it draws attention to how identity is being reconstituted in the process of European integration and identity-formation, and how discourses on changing forms of security cooperation are facilitating the discursive dissemination of an inevitable logic that neutrality in any form will eventually be abandoned.

Scandinavia Within and Without Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
Bo Stråth
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
European Integration ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Napoleonic Wars ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Integration Approach ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Eu

This chapter outlines changing relationships between Scandinavia and Europe. The Scandinavian ‘isolationist’ approach to Europe after the Napoleonic wars shifted to more active integrationist policies in the 1920s, with the arrival of left governments and the acceptance of the League of Nations; a new isolationist trend (‘neutrality’) set in after 1933. Against the backdrop of this long-term pattern, the focus is on shifting Scandinavian attitudes to the project of European integration and on attempts to be both within and outside Europe. Before and after the Danish entry into the EU in 1973, tensions between different approaches and between the countries concerned have been evident. The Cold War was a major factor, and its end reinforced the pro-integration approach. More recently, problems with the euro and the refugee crisis have provoked more ambiguous responses, but less so in Finland than in the Scandinavian countries.

The New ‘Multiplex’ Cold War in the Indo-Pacific

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-67
Author(s):  
Timothy Doyle ◽  
Dennis Rumley
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Regional Strategies ◽  
Sphere Of Influence ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Regional Primacy ◽  
New Strategies

In this chapter we argue that one of the principal inhibitors of sustainable security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region is that the Cold War has yet to end. Strategic concepts and postures reflecting containment, ‘constrainment’, sphere of influence, expansionism, and territorial competition still inhabit the rhetoric not just of the regional security environment. Regional strategies can therefore be interpreted within the framework of Cold War ‘logic’, thus impeding regional security cooperation. The ‘old’ Cold War has thus been perpetuated, reinforced, and reinterpreted as a ‘new’ Cold War due to geopolitical competition over global and regional primacy. Even within this process of geopolitical competition, old geopolitical concepts such as ‘pivot’ and ‘Indo-Pacific’ have also been reinterpreted and reused to justify new strategies that ultimately continue to foster a new Cold War in the region. Indeed, the Indo-Pacific has returned as a central element of the new Cold War.

The Limits of Compensation: Swiss Neutrality Policy in the Cold War

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 12-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Fischer ◽  
Daniel Möckli
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
World War ◽  
Security Strategy ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Emotional Commitment ◽  
The Cold War

Switzerland was in a unique place among European countries after World War II. Although situated in the center of Europe, it had not been attacked by Nazi Germany and therefore emerged from the war with a strong economy, stable political institutions, and social cohesion. The experience of World War II forged a collective identity different from that in other continental states. The Swiss had a deep emotional commitment to neutrality and a conviction that autonomous defense would continue to be an effective security strategy after 1945. The Swiss government acknowledged the need for, and indeed was supportive of, the new United Nations collective security system. The Swiss were well aware of the benefits of Western collective defense and European integration as the Cold War divide came about. But Switzerland was willing to associate with these new multilateral governance structures only to the extent that they did not negatively affect neutrality or, in the case of European integration, Swiss economic interests.

Resurgent Russia pushes Nordic states towards West

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Sharp Change ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War

Subject Outlook for Nordic-NATO defence cooperation. Significance The Russian intervention in Ukraine and assertive stance against NATO -- particular in the Baltic Sea region -- has pushed the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to reassess their defence and security policies in order to be better prepared to manage crises and deter aggression in northern Europe. This constitutes a sharp change in strategic outlook, as the Nordic-Baltic region has been characterised by low tensions, stability and continued economic and political integration since the end of the Cold War. Impacts Nordic participation in multilateral international operations may wane as their defence focus shifts to the Baltic region. Scandinavian procurement programmes present commercial opportunities to defence and aerospace firms. Prioritising bilateral security arrangements may fragment a unified US-Nordics approach to regional security. Closer security ties with the West are likely to compromise Scandinavia's negotiating position with Moscow on other issues.

scholarly journals The Emperor Needs New Clothes: Securitizing Threats in the Twenty-First Century

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Franke
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
September 11 ◽  
First Century ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Complex Theory ◽  
The Cold War

The terrorist attacks of September 11 brought to a head change that had been underway since the end of the Cold War in how we think about security: (1) there is no longer consensus about who or what constitutes the “enemy”; (2) Realism as the dominating paradigm for studying international relations is collapsing; (3) domestic factors are gaining importance for devising security policies; and (4) with increasing globalization these domestic factors attain impact beyond national borders. In this article, I examine the nature of these developments and illustrate that the concept of security is often misapplied for political gain and/or to justify extraordinary measures for countering impending or perceived threats. Comparing various conceptions of security, I analyze the dangers resulting from oversecuritization, which is the propensity to treat traditional policy issues as existential threats to security, and demonstrate the need to more clearly define the distinction betw-een nonexistential and existential threats that justify extraordinary measures. Expanding on classical security complex theory, I propose a conceptual model that links security sectors and can be applied to develop measurable criteria for distinguishing between those issues that should be securitized and those that can be addressed through existing policy channels.

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