Scandinavian exceptionalism and European Union

In contrast to more usual interest-based accounts, this analysis of the Scandinavian national debates about EU membership focuses on the conflict between different normative standpoints on the implications of membership for the future of the Scandinavian exceptional state. The debates shared a number of crucial features, notably the prominence of exceptionalist (i.e. progressivist and internationalist) critiques of the European project, but distinctive national settlings also produced significant variations. It is argued that normative analysis of the debates identifies some key issues concerning the future of Scandinavian exceptionalism and, more generally, questions overly exogenous accounts of foreign policy change in small states. © Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1997.