Danish Security Research Articles

Cold War conduct: knowledge transfer, psychological defence, and media preparedness in Denmark between Sweden, Norway, and NATO, 1954–1967

ABSTRACT Employing the Foucauldian term ‘conduct’, this article explores how social resilience and morale became a target of state intervention in Denmark during the Cold War. ‘Psychological defence’ was a Cold War phenomenon designed to bring an imagined future war into a space of control as well as a tool for the authorities’ exercise of power in case another world war became a reality. Advocating a methodological internationalism, the article analyses how the concept of psychological defence travelled from Sweden to Denmark via Norway and NATO, and in a complex process of translation, mixing and hybridization was adapted and appropriated to Danish security policy conditions, preparedness culture, and historical experiences. Ultimately, psychological defence was replaced with a more practical or even cynical approach to public information and media preparedness, even if the objectives remained the same. The article employs source material from Danish, Swedish, and NATO archives and combines Scandinavian Cold War history with media history and the history of knowledge.

Ukraine and the end of civilian innocence

Several US think tanks and newspapers have described the current security situation in Ukraine as marking a new world order – a post-post Cold War – in which Russia and China have entered the scene as major powers, and where the EU’s internal power relations are consolidated and strengthened. However, the description of this new reality of great power rivalry is only part of the picture that emerges. The fact of the matter is that our ideas about how to combat threats and who is responsible for this fight have fundamentally changed. Today’s geopolitics are not only fought by states, within the framework of diplomacy and military institutions, but also by Danish and other Western companies. This article examines what characterizes the role of Danish companies in Danish security politics and what this development means for our understanding of security politics in the coming years.

Оборонная политика ЕС в призме датских телевизионных дебатов

Denmark held the referendum on removing the country’s EU-defence opt-out on June 1, 2022. The referendum has resulted in extensive televised socio-political discussions not only about integration opt-outs, but also about the upcoming development of the EU CSDP and whether its foreseeable future suits Denmark’s interests. The article analyzes the two rounds of television debates on the abolition of the defense opt-out broadcast on the leading national TV channel ‘DR1’. The ratio of utilitarian and value arguments of supporters and opponents of the abolition of Danish exceptions in the field of EU defense integration was considered. The arguments provided by the participants of the debates were divided into several groups regarding ‘Danish security’, ‘Denmark's influence in the EU’, ‘defense spending’, ‘compatibility between EU and NATO’, ‘solidarity with allies’ and other aspects. Unique arguments and statements that were difficult to attribute to one group or another are also highlighted. The television debates mirror Denmark's dubious position towards the EU – on the one hand, the desire for a stronger and more independent role for the EU in world politics and the EU's more substantial contribution to the regional stability, and on the other hand, reluctance to deepen defense cooperation and limited resources, with the latter raising a question of priorities between NATO and EU defence initiatives. During the debates the advocates for Denmark’s deeper integration within the EU CSDP stressed their strict adherence to intergovernmental approach in the field of defence cooperation.

Evolution of Denmark’s Policy Towards the NATO in the Second Half of the 20th Century

The article focuses on Denmark’s shifting approaches towards bloc policy through the lens of its security priorities. It emphasizes that the Danish exposure to security vulnerabilities is primarily due to its geographical location, which led to rejection of country’s neutrality and to joining the NATO. The study stresses that internal factors have been continuously influencing the Danish defense policy, causing numerous controversies in domestic politics. Contradictions are identified in Denmark’s efforts to preserve a balance between the status of a nuclear-free state and the need to accept the U.S. military base in Greenland. The reasons and peculiarities of the Danish ambivalent attitude towards the NATO during the Cold War are clarified. It is pointed out that a moderately independent approach to relations with the Eastern Bloc and efforts towards a further rapprochement was a prominent aspect of Denmark’s security policy at that time. The study demonstrates that the Atlantic direction gradually lost its relevance in the Danish security policy after the NATO approved the «double solution» policy in 1979, which was based on nuclear rearmament and excessive demands towards the USSR in arms control negotiations. Denmark’s approach to the NATO in the early 1980s was often described as «footnoting» and had a negative impact on Denmark’s ally image in the North Atlantic Alliance. New geopolitical realities in the late 1980’s pushed Denmark to adopt a more proactive security policy in the context of the Atlanticism. The nature of Denmark’s participation in international security initiatives, intervention operations under the NATO auspices and US-led ad-hoc coalitions during the 1990’s is thoroughly analyzed. The article underlines the importance of Denmark’s transformation from a weak link within NATO into a significant Nordic and European security player.

Danish Defense Transformation and the Technopolitics of Relevant Military Contributions

This article shows how the transformation of the Danish Defence, initiated with the defense agreement of 2004, was impacted by socio-technological change. The article takes as its theoretical starting point the concepts of security and military imaginaries and the study of (military) technopolitics. It argues that the Danish military transformation was a product of the Danish foreign policy ambition of being viewed as a trustworthy and relevant ally – especially by the United States. This ambition meant that Denmark had to make relevant military contributions to the period’s U.S.- and NATO-led international operations. Therefore, the perception of what constituted relevant military contributions came to shape the Danish military transformation. In this process the period’s large-scale socio-technological changes, fueled by unprecedented information and communication technological development, played a central role in (re-)shaping both U.S. and Danish security and military imaginaries. This through technopolitical narratives of the information age, (the dark sides of) globalization, and the Revolution in Military Affairs which (in)directly impacted the broader Danish understanding and concrete practice (i.e. policy) in regard to military transformation in connection with the 2004 defense agreement. Finally, for Denmark, the technopolitical conflicts emerging around the schism of having to transform in order to be viewed as a trustworthy ally capable of making relevant military contributions and the large-scale economic and organizational investments required by the transformation led Denmark to formulate its own technopolitical strategy or narrative. This in the shape of Network-Based Operations framed as a specific Danish pragmatic and down-to-earth approach to transformation.

Danish Cold War Historiography

Abstract For decades, little research on Danish Cold War history was conducted either inside or outside Denmark. The relevant archives were closed, and generations of Danish contemporary historians were primarily interested in what happened during World War II. This is no longer the situation. Over the past 35 years, especially since the end of the Cold War, researchers have scrutinized Danish Cold War history in great depth. By now, scholarly research in Denmark on the Cold War, especially in the area of Danish national security affairs and foreign policy, has reached a level that merits international attention, and this survey article provides an overview. The article encourages Danish Cold War scholars to promote comparative research that incorporates Danish Cold War history into the wider international Cold War scholarship, to the benefit of both Danish and international research.

Activism with the Nordic “brothers”: Cautious revival after years of decline?

Danish activism in a Nordic context has suffered many setbacks since the end of the cold war. A central supplement strategy to the dominant Danish foreign and security policy in NATO during the cold war, Danish Nordic activism has since lost ground within the military sphere, the diplomatic sphere and the economic sphere. However, recent developments indicate that Danish Nordic activism may now experience a cautious revival, brought about by success with pragmatically focused cooperative projects for example in NORDEFCO and by the diffusion of Nordic ideals to a broader group such as Nordic Plus or within the EU. The NATO and EU divide between the Nordic countries, however, as well as differing national priorities in many different policy areas, still constitute considerable obstacles.

Activism in Danish foreign policy: UN, NATO, EU and the Nordic cooperation

This introductory article commences with a brief overview of the existing literature on Danish foreign policy activism. We argue that the concept – activism – is useful in terms of labelling Danish foreign policy in general but also that the notion of activism hampers a more nuanced understanding of Denmark’s recent foreign policy as it relates almost entirely to Danish security policies. To more comprehensively appreciate the true nature of Danish foreign policy, we have to be more precise when operationalizing the concept of activism and engage with a compartmentalized understanding of Denmark’s policies vis-à-vis her international surroundings. We do both in the article’s second main section and we develop a typology for analyzing different types of foreign policies. In the article’s third and last section, we compare four major institutional tracks in Danish foreign policy: EU, NATO, UN and the Nordic track.

Comparative analysis of military security policy of Norway and Denmark in the Arctic region

The interest of Western countries in the Arctic region is growing with each new statement about the sharp climate change and the melting of the Arctic Ocean’s glaciers. In addition to the threats related to the environmental situation in the Arctic zone, the desire to participate in shelf research and development, the potential of using the sea routes of the region by both the Arctic and non-Arctic states creates threats to the security of the Nordic countries. The coastal states, which in case of the escalation of tensions will be in the midst of a regional conflict in the Arctic, are Norway and Denmark. Therefore, the analysis of a level of Norwegian and Danish military security against a backdrop of increasing confrontation between Russia and West and changing climate situation in the region is urgent ., Nevertheless, to ensure a necessary level of defence capability as well as security of borders and zones of exceptional economic interests in the conditions of low temperatures is not so easy. This article examines the Norwegian and Danish approaches to the new military security challenges in the Arctic region. The paper contains examination of the doctrinal basis of military security along with the main documents that form the security concepts of the two countries in the Arctic region, and the reports of the defense ministries and scientific institutions surveys of military activities in the Arctic. Three directions of coastal countries’ policy making in the issues of military security were chosen for comparison. Firstly, the relationships with the USA, the leader of the North Atlantic alliance, which allow us to determine the significance of Norway and Denmark in building NATO security in the north. Secondly, the relationships with the EU and separately with the Nordic countries are considered. This case shows the level of involvement of the European community in the issue of ensuring the Arctic security . Thirdly, the relationships with Russia which has the largest military contingent in the northern latitudes among the members of the Arctic Council, are reviewed. That gives an opportunity to analyze the possible development of Russian-Norwegian and Russian-Danish relationships, particularly the dialogue on maintaining security in the region. At the end of each subsection the author highlights the main findings on selected vectors of the security policy. In conclusion, the assessment of the current defense capability of Denmark and Norway is given, as well as the impact of NATO joint exercises on Russia’s Arctic policy making is considered in order to highlight the role of coastal states in this context.

Freden i Kiel, Grønland og Nordatlanten 1814-2014

Thorkild Kjærgaard: The Peace in Kiel, Greenland, and the North Atlantic, 1814–2014
 At the peace conference in Kiel (North Germany) in January 1814, the Danish-Norwegian North Atlantic Empire that controlled an enormous area of land and water, including not only Denmark (with Schleswig-Holstein) and Norway but also Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the huge, thinly populated ice-covered island of Greenland, was dissolved by the victorious powers of the Napoleonic wars. Norway was given to Sweden as compensation for Finland, which Sweden — now in the victorious coalition — had lost to Russia in 1809. Rather surprisingly, the Kingdom of Denmark — now, without Norway, Europe’s smallest independent country — was entrusted with Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, although these three North Atlantic areas since early medieval times had been a part of the Kingdom of Norway. Without question, this was a major historical injustice. For Denmark, the outcome of the 1814 conference in Kiel was twofold: it was reduced to a very small country and it became — and still is — a polar nation, which it had not been before. The article discusses three aspects of this complex. Firstly: What happened in Kiel? Why were the three North Atlantic territories taken from Norway and given to Denmark? Was it, as it has been claimed by a majority of historians, the merit of sly Danish diplomats or was it — as the author believes — the will of the United Kingdom that was imposed on two small countries, Sweden and Denmark? Secondly, it is discussed how Denmark dealt with its new role as a polar nation. It turns out that Denmark initially was a rather hesitant, not to say, unwilling polar nation. Gradually, however, the extraordinary qualities of the North Atlantic islands, especially Greenland, were recognized. Since the end of the 19th century, Greenland has been a major subject of Danish art and literature, just as it has been a decisive dimension of Danish scientific research. The last section of the article deals with the significance of Greenland for Danish security and foreign policy. It is shown how the suffocating dependency on Great Britain after 1814 gradually was reduced thanks to a rapprochement to the new world power, the United States, which very early on showed interest in Greenland, which is, geographically, a part of the North American continent. The close alliance with the United States has saved Greenland for Denmark, just as it has been extremely helpful for Denmark in number of critical situations since 1814, but it also has its price. The price is that Denmark always follows US and never questions US actions. Relatively, Denmark, one of President Bush’s “willing nations,” has had more casualties on the American battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other of the United States’ allied nations. The Danish soldiers who have been killed on Middle East or Central Asiatic battlefields since 2001 have died for Greenland.

Criminal network investigation

Editorial Criminal networks such as terrorist and organized crime networks pose a threat to both national and international security. Investigation of such networks by law enforcement and intelligence agencies is a complex and time-consuming task. The ability to understand and model such networks, to analyze and visualize such networks, to mine and forecast such networks, to predict and simulate such networks, and to effectively collaborate and share information about such networks are key factors in defeating them. It is well known that the Internet is used for criminal activities such as terrorism. The Center for Terror Analysis, Danish Security and Intelligence Service wrote a report in 2008 that states: The Internet plays a significant and increasing role for militant extremists and terrorist groups that use this media to spread messages, communicate and carry out virtual training as well as for recruitment, logistic support and operational preparations [1]. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) wrote a report in 2012 that states: Technology is one of the strategic factors driving the increasing use of the Internet by terrorist organizations and their supporters for a wide range of purposes, including recruitment, financing, propaganda, training, incitement to commit acts of terrorism, and the gathering and dissemination of information for terrorist purposes [2]. Two papers of this special issue focus on matters related to the use of the Internet for criminal activities. The first paper in this special issue by Torok (Developing an explanatory model for the process of online radicalization and terrorism) proposes a model for understanding the mechanisms and power relations that underlie the use of Internet services such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for online radicalization and terrorism. The model is based on previous work by Foucault on psychiatric power [3]. The second paper in this special issue by BowmanGrieve (A psychological perspective on virtual communities supporting terrorist & extremist ideologies as a tool for recruitment) examines the role of virtual communities as a tool for recruitment used by terrorist and extremist organizations. A case study looks at the how the Radical Right uses the Internet in their activities. Many terrorist organizations are transnational in nature [2]. Hence, it is important to understand and predict the locational dynamics of such organizations. The third paper in this special issue by Desmarais and Cranmer (Forecasting the locational dynamics of transnational terrorism: a network analytic approach) proposes and evaluates a network analytic approach to predict the geopolitical sources and targets of terrorism. Software tools play an increasing role in criminal network investigation [4]. Software tools can help support and (semi) automate some of the complex knowledge management processes involved in criminal network investigation (collection, processing, synthesis, sense-making, dissemination, etc.). The fourth and final paper in this special issue by Petersen and Wiil (CrimeFighter Investigator: Integrating synthesis and sense-making for criminal network investigation) presents a new software tool dedicated to support criminal network investigation.

Surveillance of peace movements in Denmark during the Cold War

This paper portrays surveillance of peace movements in Denmark during the Cold War. It is demonstrated that the Danish police viewed the Danish peace movement as divided into two categories. One group originated from the liberal peace tradition with ties to the Liberal Party and the Social Liberal Party. The other category had a pro-Soviet outlook and was affiliated with the World Peace Council. The paper is based on research carried out by a Danish Commission of Inquiry that investigated surveillance of political activities conducted by the Danish police 1945–89. The Commission had unimpeded access to all official Danish archives including the files of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service.

Legal rights, efficiency and citizen involvement in the administration of social security cash benefits

The Danish social security legislation has been distinguished in recent years by an intense growth in rules and regulations. Numerous laws and ordinances have been promulgated, which make it extremely difficult for both citizens and authorities to come to grips with the laws, much less to gain an overview. In order to improve efficiency in administering cash benefits and reduce cost, the Danish government has relied on the transfer of support benefits to bulk administration with the aid of Information Technology (IT). While the use of IT has enabled complicated calculations, it has given rise to a vast growth in very detailed and complex rules and thereby lack of transparency for citizens and social workers. The fact that benefits are administered with the aid of computers means that neither administrators nor politicians find the abundance of rules to be a problem, and no limits are thereby set for the accretion of new special rules. They merely have to be coded into the system. The government's modernisation programme has been carried out at the expense of transparency and the legal rights of the citizens. This article deals with Danish legislation; the mechanisms in question are common not only to social security legislation, but also to other areas of the law which are characterised by bulk administration.

‘What's the Use of It?’: Danish Strategic Culture and the Utility of Armed Force

The article uses theories of strategic culture to show why Denmark has come to regard the use of armed force in new ways following the end of the Cold War. It is argued that Danish strategic culture is constituted by a debate between ‘cosmopolitans’ and ‘defencists’ about the utility of armed force. The debate shows that a minor power possesses a certain ability to choose how to act on the world stage, and what means to use in doing so, and illustrates that the prevalent structural explanations of why Danish foreign policy has been ‘militarized’ since the end of the Cold War are insufficient. In Denmark, a new focus on European integration and globalization has meant that military power is being understood in a new way. A practice of ‘activism’ has transcended the cosmopolitan–defencist debate that paralysed Danish security discourse in the late 1970s and 1980s.

La politique danoise de sécurité : activisme international et ambiguïté européenne

Danish Security Policy : International Activism and European Ambiguity, by Sten Rynning Danish security policy has become activist and militarized in the post-Cold War era. Denmark has singled out the UN and Nato as pillars of a new order which is compatible with its 'liberal peasant values'. However, tensions have arisen from divergences between these values and European integration and as a consequence Denmark has opted out of the rapidly developing defense dimension of the EU. The ambiguities of Danish security policy give rise to distinct problems for European countries wishing to coordinate their policies on US missile defense and Baltic stability. A new Danish debate on security and defense policy is unfolding and may represent an opportunity for Denmark and its European partners to shape new responses to common problems.

Prevalence and incidence of bloodborne viral infections among Danish prisoners.

In order to determine the prevalence and incidence of bloodborne viral infections among prisoners, we conducted a prospective study in a Danish medium security prison for males. The prisoners were offered an interview and blood test for hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus HIV at inclusion as well as at release from prison or end of study. Of 403 prisoners available 325 (79%) participated in the initial survey and for 142 (44%) a follow-up test was available. 43% (140/325) of the participants were injecting drug users (IDUs) of whom 64% were positive for hepatitis B (HBV) and 87% for hepatitis C (HCV) markers. No cases of HIV or human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) were found. 32% of all prisoners could transmit HBV and/or HCV by blood contact. 70% of IDUs had shared injecting equipment, and 60% had injected inside prison. Only 2% of IDUs were vaccinated against HBV. Duration of injecting drug use, numbers of imprisonments, and injecting in prison were independently and positively associated with the presence of HBV antibodies among IDUs by logistic regression analysis. The HBV incidence was 16/100 PY (95% CI: 2-56/100 PY) and the HCV incidence 25/100 PY (1-140) among injecting drug users (IDUs). We conclude that IDUs in prison have an incidence of hepatitis B and C 100 times higher than reported in the general Danish population. They should be vaccinated against hepatitis B and new initiatives to stop sharing of injecting equipment in and outside prison is urgently needed.

The Modernization of the US Radar Installation at Thule, Greenland

A controversial arms control issue in the 1980s was the US-Soviet dispute concerning new or modernized radars which were claimed to violate the ABM Treaty. The new US Large Phased-Array Radar at Thule, Greenland, became a major issue in the Danish security policy debate, particularly in early 1987, when several claims were made in the Danish media and the Danish Parliament concerning the radar's function and potential capabilities. As the US military facilities in Greenland have rarely been at the forefront of the political debate in Denmark, it is not surprising that both the political and media debate have been riddled with speculations and contradictory assertions. The political debate in Denmark resulted in a resolution adopted by a broad majority in the Danish Parliament, stressing that the radar should not be used in a future SDI or ABM system. This article discusses the strategic rationale behind the modernization decision as expressed by the US Air Force in testimony before the US Congress. I argue that the purpose of the modernization was to enhance the quality of attack warning and attack assessment data so crucial to a nuclear warfighting strategy. Various claims which were aired in the Danish debate are assessed; and I maintain that the radar is unlikely to be of substantial utility in a future ABM or SDI system, that the modernization did not violate the spirit of the ABM treaty; that the radar is able to perform certain spacetracking missions; and that data collected from the Thule array could be relevant for a potential future US ASAT system.

Denmark's Foreign Relations in the 1990s

Denmark faces, in the 1990s, a radically transformed security and political-economic environment, which is likely to have a profound impact on the relative importance of the five traditional arenas in Danish security and foreign economic policy, namely, the Nordic, the Atlantic, the West European, the All-European, and the global arenas. After a detailed analysis of Danish postwar security and foreign economic policies, which focuses on the effects of eroding domestic agreement in the 1980s, it is concluded that consensus has been largely reestablished and is likely to prevail in the 1990s, despite fundamental challenges to established policies and attitudes. Finally, Denmark's likely responses to four main challenges of the 1990s are discussed; these are the changing threat environment, the prospects for a European union, German unification, and possibilities for cooperation in the Baltic region.

A Democratic Revolt? Stability and Change in Danish Security Policy 1979-1989

Holm, H.-H. A Democratic Revolt? Stability and Change in Danish Security Policy 1979-1989. Cooperation and Conflict, XXIV, 1989, 179-197. The events in many European countries following the intense security debates since 1979 have revitalized arguments about the relationship between democracy and security policy change. From Tocqueville onwards, many have argued that security policy should be shielded from the democratic process. An analysis of Danish security policy content and the decision-making process in the years 1979-1989 is used here to provide an answer to this debate. Representation, participation and information are used as indices for the democratization of Danish security policy, and it is concluded that despite a clear trend towards increased participation and information, both the content of Danish security policy and the decision-making process have remained stable.

Peace and Security in Europe: The Context for Denmark's Choices

Sørensen, G. Peace and Security in Europe: The Context for Denmark's Choices. Cooperation and Conflict, XXI, 1986, 219-240. The article first explores the conceptual problems of peace and security. It proceeds to discuss four issues relevant for Denmark's security situation: the military balance in Europe; the shift in the hierarchy of powers in the West and its implications for stability; the dynamics of the Soviet Union and its European allies; and finally, the prospects for increased cooperation in Europe. It then turns to the national context, looking at the constraints on Danish security strategies from this angle, including a brief discussion on possible directions of change in the prevailing security policy. The conclusion stresses the following points: (1) The security issue is extremely complex, because it involves a vast number of threats to the individual and to the nation-state, and because the international system poses severe constraints on the possibility of coping with security challenges. (2) The threat of less stable and peaceful conditions in Europe is not only, or even primarily, related to the build-up of armaments. Increased tension on the military front has non-military roots. (3) The present Danish debate on security is rather narrow, focused on military and strategic issues. There is urgent need for a more comprehensive approach.