Smaller nations have a special place in the international system, with a striking capacity to defy the expectations of most observers and many prominent theories of international relations. This volume of classic essays highlights the ability of small states to counter power with superior commitment, to rely on tightly knit domestic institutions with a shared ideology of social partnership, and to set agendas as entrepreneurs. The volume is organised around themes such as how and why small states defy expectations of realist approaches to the study of power; the agenda-setting capacity of smaller powers in international society and in regional governance structures such as the European Union; and how small states and representatives from these societies play the role of entrepreneurs in world politics - from the promotion of sustainable solutions to innovative humanitarian programmes and policies.

The early 1980s brought dramatic changes in East-West relations. The decade began with the death of Yugoslavia's Tito, the birth of Poland's Solidarity trade union, and the U.S. election of Ronald Reagan as president. These key developments, together with the growing financial insolvency of the Soviet bloc and shifts in power in the Kremlin culminating in the election of Mikhail Gorbachev as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985 signalled the end of an era. Since then, U.S. relations with Europe have charted a new course, influenced especially by the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the expansion of NATO, and the growing strength of the European Union. This volume analyzes U.S. relations with Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine, and examines the new role for NATO in the post-Cold War world and the evolving dynamics in the U.S.-EU partnership. Through their assessment of mutual perceptions, evolving interests, and clashing agendas, the contributors offer a fresh and thoughtful exploration of the relationship between the United States and the major European states.

This clear and engaging text offers a sustained appraisal of Scandinavia's foreign policy and role in the global economy in the post-Cold War period. In an era when good citizenship in the global community has become a diplomatic priority for many states, Christine Ingebritsen argues that Scandinavia has both the legitimacy and the domestic political attributes to be an important international player. She examines how social innovators such as Sweden and Finland seek to influence European integration and how Norway has cultivated a unique and innovative niche in its foreign relations. Scandinavia, she convincingly shows, has become a 'norm entrepreneur,' exercising its influence abroad through moral leadership-from sponsoring the Nobel Prize and participating in global peacekeeping efforts to providing generous foreign aid and monitoring human rights abuses in the international community. Demonstrating how Scandinavia has made its model of the good society viable on a global scale, this text offers a fascinating case of small-state success and individuality in an increasingly globalized world.

The idea of European unity, which the Nordic states have historically resisted, has recently become the foremost concern of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Finland. Christine Ingebritsen provides a timely analysis of Nordic economic and security policies in the wake of the vast transformation of regional politics between 1985 and 1995. The Nordic States and European Unity addresses two central questions: Why did all five Nordic states trade autonomy for integration after 1985? And why do some follow the British pattern, resisting supranationalism, while others prefer the German strategy of embedding their policies in a common European project?Through extensive interviews with representatives of trade unions, government ministries, parliamentary committees, social movements, and military and industrial organizations, Ingebritsen charts adjustments to the idea of a regional system of governance. She highlights crucial differences among these nations as they seek to protect their borders against new security threats. In particular, Ingebritsen shows how the political influence of leading sectors affects each state's capacity to pursue an integrationist policy. Economic sectors are not uniformly affected by European policy coordination, and the experience of the Nordic states demonstrates this difference. Her work shifts the focus of political economics away from enduring, domestic institutions toward an understanding of institutions as sectoral and transnational.

The idea of European unity, which the Nordic states have historically resisted, has recently become the foremost concern of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland. Christine Ingebritsen provides an analysis of Nordic economic and security policies in the wake of the vast transformation of regional politics between 1985 and 1995. The Nordic States and European Unity addresses two central questions: Why did all five Nordic states trade autonomy for integration after 1985? And why do some follow the British pattern, resisting supranationalism, while others prefer the German strategy of embedding their policies in a common European project?