Characteristics of Norwegian Foreign Policy in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

This chapter examines what has characterised Norwegian foreign policy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It applies some concepts from the international relations theories of realism and liberalism/idealism on partly new and mainly previously introduced historical perspectives in the book. Thereby, the chapter demonstrates that Norway has to some degree been driven by altruism/idealism in its foreign policies, but the country has increasingly been seeking national self-interests in international politics. The chapter also investigates more specifically the domestic side of Norwegian foreign policymaking—with attention directed particularly to characteristics that could be said to optimise the country’s small state role. In the final part of the chapter, the future of Norwegian foreign policy is discussed, thereby also summing up what has been found to be typical characteristics of Norwegian foreign policy over these centuries.