What has been the nature of Norway's relationship with European integration and why has it been so precarious? Has Norway's association with Europe been determined more by external factors or by domestic considerations? Has Norway's dependence on the United States for its security been replaced to any great extent by a Europeanization of that security? This book seeks to answer these questions and to examine the future prospects for Norwegian membership of the European Union.
Central to the book is an explanation of the paradox of Norway's close involvement with the Atlantic Alliance on the one hand, and its distance from the project of mainstream integration on the other. In exploring the new conditions under which Norway has found itself - that is, the changing basis of security policy and the widening of EU membership to include the former EFTA members - the authors consider the wider issues around the European integration process and the security options facing Europe in the post-Cold War period. IntroductionPART ONE: NORWEGIAN EUROPEAN POLICYRebuilding: 1945-1961Applying and After: 1961-1977Finding a Formula: 1977-1993Negotiating for Membership: 1993-1994Between the Negotiations and the ReferendumPART TWO: NORWEGIAN ALLIANCE POLICYThe Road to Alliance: 1945-1949Norway in the Cold War: 1950-1962From Détente to the End of the Cold War: 1963-1989Norway's Strategic Position after 1989Security and the Referendum CampaignPART THREE: AFTER `NO', WHAT?Norway: Secure at the Margins?Prosperous at the Periphery?Conclusions