The Scandinavian Countries and the UN Genocide Convention, 1946–58: Constructive Pragmatism of the “Lesser” Democracies

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the position that three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Norway, and Denmark – had assumed on the newly proposed crime of genocide and an international convention that addressed it. While the Great Powers’ politics vis-à-vis the draft Genocide Convention have been examined in detail, points of contestation and major concerns of so-called lesser democracies remain largely unexplored. Within the context of the UN Genocide Convention, the Scandinavian countries lived up to their reputation of democracies guided by the rule of law, yet with a caveat. The tenor of the interoffice discussions in the respective ministries in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo somewhat differed from the official statements of the representatives of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the United Nations. In aligning the provisions of the draft convention with the domestic legislation, the Scandinavian governments displayed the manifest lack of idealism. They regarded the passing of the Genocide Convention as an important milestone, though not at any cost. When it comes to evaluating the overall performance of each of the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark largely remained on sidelines. Norway approached the drafting of the Genocide Convention from a perspective of the national law. On the skepticism curve, Denmark (alongside Belgium and the United Kingdom) scored the highest. Norway was not far behind, though publicly it positioned itself as a principled supporter of the Genocide Convention (not unlike the United States). Sweden, then, belonged among the undecided. Significantly, due to the adopted policy of sustaining international cooperation, the Scandinavian countries did not follow the great powers in openly voicing their skepticism toward the Genocide Convention. Of the three Scandinavian delegations, the Norwegian had most consistently taken the middle road in order to ensure the broadest possible support for the Genocide Convention.