Still Living in the Shadow of 1864? Danish Foreign Policy Doctrines and the Origins of Denmark’s Pragmatic Activism

TY - CHAP

T1 - Still Living in the Shadow of 1864?

T2 - Danish Foreign Policy Doctrines and the Origins of Denmark’s Pragmatic Activism

AU - Wivel, Anders

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - The Danish defeat to Prussia in 1864 is typically regarded as the starting point for a reactive and pragmatic foreign policy, which was only replaced by foreign policy activism by the end of the Cold War. In contrast, this article argues that by reinterpreting Danish foreign policy practice in the light of Danish foreign policy thinking, i.e. the doctrines providing the principles for conducting foreign policy, pragmatism and activism may both be viewed as integral aspects of Danish foreign policy since the early twentieth century. The article discusses how to define foreign policy doctrine and how doctrines relate to grand strategy and foreign policy practice and it sets up a simple framework for identifying doctrines and their role in Danish foreign policy. From this starting point it identifies two Danish foreign policy doctrines – the Munch doctrine and the Hækkerup doctrine and discusses how these two doctrines have served as central bodies of principles on Denmark’s role in Europe and the world. Two attempts at challenging the two dominant doctrines – the Danish ‘footnote policy’ towards NATO in the 1980s and Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s ‘super atlanticism’ in the 2000s – are discussed and it is explored why both of these attempts at transforming Denmark’s position turned out to be ultimately unsuccessful.

AB - The Danish defeat to Prussia in 1864 is typically regarded as the starting point for a reactive and pragmatic foreign policy, which was only replaced by foreign policy activism by the end of the Cold War. In contrast, this article argues that by reinterpreting Danish foreign policy practice in the light of Danish foreign policy thinking, i.e. the doctrines providing the principles for conducting foreign policy, pragmatism and activism may both be viewed as integral aspects of Danish foreign policy since the early twentieth century. The article discusses how to define foreign policy doctrine and how doctrines relate to grand strategy and foreign policy practice and it sets up a simple framework for identifying doctrines and their role in Danish foreign policy. From this starting point it identifies two Danish foreign policy doctrines – the Munch doctrine and the Hækkerup doctrine and discusses how these two doctrines have served as central bodies of principles on Denmark’s role in Europe and the world. Two attempts at challenging the two dominant doctrines – the Danish ‘footnote policy’ towards NATO in the 1980s and Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s ‘super atlanticism’ in the 2000s – are discussed and it is explored why both of these attempts at transforming Denmark’s position turned out to be ultimately unsuccessful.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Danish foreign policy

KW - foreign policy doctrine

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 9788776056919

T3 - Danish Foreign Policy Review

SP - 109

EP - 139

BT - Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook 2014

A2 - Mouritzen, Hans

A2 - Hvidt, Nanna

PB - DIIS, Danish Institute for International Studies

CY - København

ER -