Scandinavia and the United States

In Scandinavia and the United States, author Jussi Hanhimaki discusses the complex web of relationships, both bilateral and multilateral, formal and informal, economic and cultural, military and political, that linked the destinies of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden together with that of the United States during the Cold War and beyond.

Covering the history of Scandinavian - U.S. relations since orientations and policies of the five Scandinavian countries and traces in detail their changing relations with the United States. His examination demonstrates the importance of Scandinavia as a window through which to view post-1945 international affairs, especially U.S. foreign policy and key issues such as neutralism, developmental assistance, and social welfare in which the Scandinavian countries were prominent.

Changing images of the United States in these countries are also described, with particular focus on their foreign policies - some maintained neutrality during the Cold War, while others stressed developmental assistance to the Third World - and domestic affairs, in particular their famed social welfare programs.