The United States and the Nordic Countries During the Cold War

In this article, former Reagan Administration Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Dov S. Zakheim, analyzes the concerns and complexities that have governed past and present US strategic thinking about Northern Europe. A flourishing military cooperation between the US, the Scandinavian neutrals, the Baltic states, and even Russia under the auspices of the Partnership for Peace are among the most visible signs of the drastic changes that have taken place in this region in the post-Cold War era. This article traces American strategic thinking and concerns with the far North from the advent of the Cold War to the present and the recent signing of the Baltic Charter.