The common denominator. Romania and the Nordic countries, 1966-1969

Abstract

One of Nicolae Ceauşescu’s beliefs was that international security and cooperation could not rely on Cold War bipolarity, but on active involvement from every state in promoting its interests and points of view. In defending such policies, Romania sought not only to affirm its sovereignty in front of Moscow, but also to build bridges towards other countries sharing similar ideas. Starting from the early 1960s, Romania developed a coherent policy towards Nordic Europe, consisting in both economic and political cooperation. The neutrality of countries such as Sweden or Finland was regarded in Bucharest as directed against superpowers bipolarity which served as a common denominator. This paper deals with Romania’s relations in Nordic Europe during the 1960s, investigating the rationalities and factors which contributed to the emergence of constructive cooperation among countries with such different backgrounds.