The Scandinavian Network for Democracy in Greece

This chapter builds on the established literature as well as original archival research to provide a brief overview of the Scandinavian Network for Democracy in Greece—a network of civil society organizations, activists and diplomats that operated in Denmark, Norway and Sweden during the years of the Greek dictatorship from 1967 to 1974. It accounts for the network’s composition, its chief activities and its relationship with the Scandinavian governments. It proceeds through a case study of the Scandinavian Initiative of 1970—a coordinated attempt by the Scandinavian network to enable the governments of Denmark and Norway to take decisive action against the Greek regime in NATO. The chapter argues that the political landscape of the Scandinavian countries allowed the Scandinavian network to pursue an efficient partnership with the governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden that endowed the network with expanded possibilities to influence international politics.