Useful policy advice to Denmark: New international research on Danish Foreign Policy

Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook 2008

Preface by the editors

Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook 2008 is the twelfth volume of the yearbook in its present form. As previously, it focuses on Danish foreign policy and Denmark’s position within an international and a transnational context – at the regional as well as the global level. In line with the yearbook’s tradition, we present the official outline of Denmark’s 2007 foreign policy by the Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ulrik Federspiel. In addition, we have included scholarly articles by Carol Lancaster, Jens Ringsmose & Sten Rynning, and Catharina Sørensen, who represent only themselves and their academic expertise.

As always, we see it as crucial to get a foreign perspective on Denmark and Danish foreign policy. This can be found in the article by Carol Lancaster (Georgetown University, USA), comparing the Danish and the US foreign aid programs and seeking for explanations regarding the vast differences at stake. Secondly, Jens Ringsmose & Sten Rynning (both from University of Southern Denmark) analyse, whether Danish security and defence policy can retain its ‘strategic’ role in NATO in the coming years. Finally, Catharina Sørensen (DIIS) compares Danish euroscepticism in a European and Nordic perspective; the causes and implication of the phenomenon are discussed, and good advice to EU ‘communicators’ are offered.

The articles are abstracted, both in English and Danish, at the outset of chapter one. After the articles follows a small selection of official documents, which we consider to be pioneering or characteristic of Danish foreign policy during 2007. This is supplemented by essential statistics on Danish foreign policy, as well as some of the most relevant polls on the attitude of the Danish population on key foreign policy questions. A bibliography then offers a limited selection of scholarly books, articles, and chapters published in 2007 in English within the yearbook’s topic.

The editors of Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook are Director Nanna Hvidt and Hans Mouritzen, Head of DIIS foreign policy research. Members of the editorial Advisory Board have served as reviewers, and they have also provided crucial inputs in the thematic selection process for the scholarly articles. Pauline Sachs has served as the assistant editor, while Robert Parkin has been our linguistic consultant.

The editors
DIIS, Copenhagen
May 2008

Danish and US Foreign Aid Compared: A View from Washington

Carol Lancaster (lancastc@georgetown.edu)
For those in Washington - and, alas, there are not many - who study the aid programs of countries other than the US, the Danish aid program probably offers the most dramatic contrasts to US aid, as well as some suggestive ideas for the emerging debate in the US over how to organize its foreign aid in the future. This article will examine these two different aid programs and ask why they appear so distinct. It will argue that the differences are embedded in the different geo-strategic positions of the two countries, as well as differences in ideas on the appropriate role of the state in society and their different political institutions. It will conclude by suggesting that, unfortunately, there is relatively little in the fairly coherent and effective Danish aid system that can be easily transferred to the US.

The Impeccable Ally? Denmark, NATO, and the Uncertain Future of Top Tier Membership

Sten Rynning (sry@sam.sdu.dk) & Jens Ringsmose (jri@sam.sdu.dk)
Denmark, for many years a reluctant Atlantic ally, changed its profile in the post-Cold War world and undertook to support various NATO missions outside NATO territory. Danish foreign policy became militarized and, following the September 2001 terrorist attacks, Denmark became a strategic actor applying military force to defeat its enemies. A defence agreement in 2004 brought wide-ranging military reforms, and Denmark thus appeared to have completed its transformation from a reluctant to an impeccable NATO ally both politically and militarily. This transformation is analysed in the present article. It is concluded that it is unclear whether decision-makers will be willing and able to reach the type of political agreement that will maintain Denmark’s newly acquired status as an impeccable ally.

Danish euroscepticism: unique or part of broader patterns?

Catharina Sørensen
To what extent is Danish euroscepticism similar to euroscepticism in other EU member states? Based on a novel conceptualization of euroscepticism that recognizes its multifaceted nature, this article investigates existing hypotheses that cross-national patterns of euroscepticism can be explained by a country’s geographical location, political system, dominant religious affiliation, level of affluence, population size, or the timing of its entry into the EU. This search for patterns involves drawing up the eurosceptic map of the EU and, more specifically, a comparison of the types, strengths and dynamics of euroscepticism across the member states. The article should further our understanding of the ebb and flow of public opinion and contribute to on-going debates on how best to communicate the EU to its citizens. Knowledge about euroscepticism may assist campaigners of both pro- and anti-EU orientations in focusing their arguments better.

Furthermore, the publication includes a collection of official speeches on Danish foreign policy in 2005, economic key figures and opinion polls concerning different aspects of Danish foreign policy, and a bibliography of English-language publications on the subject published in 2005.

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