A New Nordic Balance: Nordic security policies and their impact on Iceland

• Published in: Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration
• Main Authors: Ómarsdóttir, Silja Bára, Bergsson, Baldvin Þór
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Stjórnsýslustofnun 2010
• Subjects: Halda; Lissabon; Norway; Varpa; Iceland
• Online Access: http://www.irpa.is/article/view/a.2010.6.2.3; https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.3

Iceland‘s security policy is under review in the wake of the departure of the US military. While policy making is still under way, one of the options frequently mentioned is that of an increased cooperation with the Nordic countries. The article thus reviews the Nordic countries‘ security policies, especially in light of the recent revision of the EU‘s Lisbon Treaty, creating a Solidarity Clause. The article employs the Securitization theory presented by Ole Wæver and the Copenhagen School in international relations toshed a lighton the Nordic countries‘ different approaches to security. The security and defence policies of the four Nordic countries are analyzed, but for Iceland speeches of the Minister for Foreign Affairs are used, as no formal security policy exists. The article concludes that the Nordic countries are likely to continue their cooperation with NATO and the EU, although Norway, Sweden and Finland may, in particular, benefit from increased Nordic cooperation. Iceland‘s security interests are not likely to be served by increased Nordic cooperation, such as that proposed by the Stoltenberg Report, as it would be more symbolic than practical. Öryggismál Íslands eru í endurskoðun í kjölfar brottfarar Bandaríkjahers frá landinu. Þótt stefnumótun sé enn ólokið hefur m.a. verið litið til aukins samstarfs við önnur ríki Norðurlanda. Í greininni er farið yfir öryggisstefnur Norðurlandanna í ljósi nýlegra breytinga á Lissabon-sáttmála Evrópusambandsins þar sem samstöðuákvæði er sett inn í sáttmálann. Skoðað er hvaða áhrif þessar breytingar gætu haft á Ísland og stöðu þess. Öryggisvæðingarkenningar Ole Wævers og Kaupmannahafnarskólans í alþjóðasamskiptum eru notaðar til að varpa ljósi á ólíkar nálganir Norðurlandanna í varnarmálum. Leitað er fanga í öryggis- og varnarmálastefnum Norðurlandanna fjögurra en í ræðum utanríkisráðherra á Íslandi, þar sem engin formleg öryggisstefna hefur verið mótuð. Niðurstöður greiningar á öryggisstefnum Norðurlandanna eru að þau muni að öllum líkindum halda áfram að starfa ...