Historical Inquiries into the Gap

In this part of the research project, we examine how the governments of Denmark and Norway have engaged and utilised external security policy expertise in the context of NATO decision-making and security policy analyses over the past four decades.

The research is anchored in two case studies. Firstly, we explore the extent to which Denmark and Norway incorporated external security policy expertise in conjunction with NATO's Dual Track Decision in 1979. Our research encompasses both the period from 1977 until the decision's adoption in 1979 and the subsequent implementation phase until 1983-84.

Secondly, we examine the utilisation of security policy think tanks by Denmark and Norway from the 1970s to the present. The purpose of the think tanks, the way the states sought to lead and direct them, and the role of the think tanks in a broader security policy context are all to be examined.

In the research, we use newly declassified and previously unused source material from Danish and Norwegian archives.