Does Denmark have a foreign and security strategy? No. Should it?

The Danish government has virtually closed its borders and is focusing all its energy on how best to deal with the single most important issue for any state right now, namely the spread of corona.

But whilst the global pandemic is surely the number one issue in both foreign and domestic policy-circles right now, other volatile issues has been hijacking the political agendas for quite some time. How do we prepare ourselves for both these new challenges to the traditional order and old dilemmas concerning Denmarks position in the world.

A new DIIS report, written before the outbreak of corona by researcher Jessica Larsen, discusses Denmark’s foreign and security strategy. The reason being that Denmark currently has none.

While Denmark has conducted an activist foreign policy for two decades it was only in 2017 that the then centre-right government developed a two-year foreign and security strategy. It was the first forward-looking document spelling out a collective Danish foreign and security strategy serving as official guidance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.

With the change of government in 2019 to a Social Democratic leadership, the future of Danish foreign and security strategy is uncertain – not only its substance but also whether dedicated strategizing will be continued. This question is only becoming more urgent with the global reach of the corona crisis.

The report finds that for a small state operating in a volatile geopolitical environment and addressing complex crises, a dedicated foreign and security strategy can play an important role. Four fundamental benefits are discussed:

• To the extent that a foreign and security strategy communicates position and priorities, it can sharpen Denmark’s international identity and be a one stop shop to partner states and adversaries alike.
• As a government-sanctioned document, it can allow a small state to be pro-active and agenda-setting internationally, rather than following its larger allies.
• A strategy can support domestic political debate on foreign and security policy, because the actual drafting process is fundamentally inter-minsterial.
• The publication of a strategy can provide a much-needed occasion to cultivate democratic and political scrutiny through regular public debate.

While finding advantages in principle of having a strategy for a small state such as Denmark, the report also argues that the Danish strategy has only partially delivered on its promise. Recommendations are made as to how to address the outstanding issues to allow Denmark more robust approach to its foreign and security strategizing.