From cooperation to containment

Reactions in the Nordic states to Russia’s and the United States’ Arctic assertiveness

Abstract

This article comparatively examines how Norway, Finland, and Denmark have reacted through their Arctic engagement to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the collapse of the ‘Arctic exceptionalism’ paradigm. We trace how Nordic states came to consider 
Russia as an existential threat, necessitating extraordinary measures ranging from Finland’s NATO accession to Denmark’s abandonment of its EU defence opt-out and Norway’s reinforcement of its northern brigades. There is a cascading pattern from domestic securitisation to interstate Nordic cooperation and interregional anchoring in NATO and the EU, as well as global-in-the-region positioning. While convergence on containment is evident, divergences persist in geographical emphases, institutional alignments, domestic patterns and histories. Norway has focused on maritime approaches, Finland on its eastern land border, and Denmark on Atlantic extension via Greenland and the GIUK gap. Nordic securitisation is contributing to the reshaping of Atlantic and Arctic security and the NATO-anchored sub-complex, where unity coexists with nationalised geographies of risk. The future of Arctic security will not be determined by Washington and Moscow alone but will hinge on Nordic agency, especially Norway’s dynamic role. Decisions in Helsinki and Copenhagen also now bind regional security dynamics to global rivalries.