| ID | 089898 |
| Title Proper | Danish foreign policy and the balance between the EU and the US |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Larsen, Henrik |
| Publication | 2009. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In the international debate, it is often argued that Denmark, in its major foreign policy priorities, has sided with the United States (US) since the Cold War rather than with the European Union (EU) or its European partners. I examine whether this is correct, and if it is, why this is so, since 2001. I also ask whether a different theoretical approach, namely discourse analysis, would lead to findings different from those of the dominant approaches. I first present various ways of explaining why a country chooses the balance that it does between the EU and the US. One particular approach, post-structuralist discourse analysis, is applied. The balance between the EU and the US in the dominant Danish discourse is analysed. I outline the policy level and attempt to map where Danish policies are conducted with the EU and the US, respectively. I show that the EU is the most important partner across foreign policy areas since 2001, despite ad hoc foreign policy cooperation with the US, and that this is due to a dominant discourse articulating the EU as `our most important alliance'. However, the US is the most important partner on military security issues based on a discourse articulating cooperation with the US as a central part of Danish foreign policy identity and an `offensive foreign policy'. |
| `In' analytical Note | Cooperation and Conflict Vol. 44, No. 2; Jun 2009: p209-230 |
| Journal Source | Cooperation and Conflict Vol. 44, No. 2; Jun 2009: p209-230 |
| Key Words | CFSP ; Denmark ; Discourse ; ESDP ; EU ; Foreign Policy ; Security Policy ; US |