What will Brexit mean for the Nordics?
The British government’s decision to withdraw from the European Union (EU) in 2016 marks a watershed in the history of European integration. What will Brexit mean for the Nordic countries? While the long-term implications of Brexit remain uncertain, it is beyond question that Brexit already has altered the European political landscape. At this seminar, we ask what implications Brexit might have for the Nordic countries, individually and in concert. Historically, there has been a close and often explicit connection between these states’ and Britain’s approach to the European integration process. Since Britain joined the European Economic Communities in 1973, many of them have identified with British positions inside the union, seeing Britain as an important, ‘no-nonsense’ voice on integration matters. What changes might we expect to see in the Nordic states’ relations with the EU post-Brexit, and in their internal debates about European integration and EU membership? What kind of bilateral relationships will they seek with Britain, and how will they respond to changing power dynamics inside the EU and between EU members and non-members post-Brexit? The seminar is funded by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Nordic Countries Project and linked to the research project “Nordic responses to geopolitical changes”, financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers (2017-2018). Elisabeth Bauer, Head of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung office for the Baltic States and Nordic countries will make opening remarks at the start of the event. Participants: Björn Fägersten is Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Europe Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. He conducts research on European integration, security policy, intelligence, international institutions and political risk. Current projects involve Geopolitical consequences of Brexit, intelligence cooperation within international security institutions, and the concept of political risk in public and private sectors. Henrik Larsen is a Jean Monnet Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. Some of his is research areas are the role of theories in the analysis of foreign polics, the EU as a normative power, Danish Foreign policy and EU foreign policy, and Brexit. Kristin Haugevik, Senior Research Fellow and Head of NUPI’s Research Group on Global Order and Diplomacy will chair the event.
