The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy

256 THE BROADER DIMENSIONS OF SECURITYof the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards (or internationalinspection) system applied to nuclear materials in Non-Nuclear Weapon States.For Sweden, its early ambition to consider developing nuclear weapons paralleledits ambition to develop nuclear energy. The path of development changedwhen it became obvious that the best option for weapon production was not themost economically efficient technological method for the development ofnuclear energy. The nuclear weapon option was abandoned in the late 1960s,and a civilian nuclear energy infrastructure was established in the early 1970sand developed thereafter. Four nuclear power plants were built with a total of12 reactors.Norway had early ambitions to develop nuclear energy and was a pioneer inthe field of nuclear research. Eventually, its ready access to hydroelectricpower, oil and gas—coupled with political and public scepticism about nuclearenergy—made it unnecessary to consider further development of nuclearenergy. Norway has since expressed varying degrees of scepticism with respectto the international promotion of nuclear energy.Denmark was engaged at an early stage in nuclear energy research and it possesseslarge uranium deposits in Greenland. However, in the 1980s Denmarkdecided that it would not develop nuclear energy. Like Norway, Denmark hasquestioned whether nuclear energy is a sound option for any country to pursueand this has been reflected in its policies towards the IAEA.Finland entered the field of nuclear research rather late and slowly. This wasboth because of the constraints imposed by its relations with the Soviet Unionand because Finland chose to await the complete negotiation of the 1968 Treatyon the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT)before building nuclear power reactors. Four reactors are now in operation attwo nuclear power plants, and the decision was taken in 2002 to begin constructionof a fifth reactor, making Finland the only Western country that inrecent years has decided to expand its use of nuclear energy.National traditions and the discussion of nuclear weaponsThe national settings in which nuclear weapon issues are discussed and inwhich decisions are reached are important because they indicate the extent towhich a certain level of activity can be expected to be short lived or long lasting.It makes a difference whether there are interest groups and movements thatforce issues onto the agenda and oblige parties and governments to take a certainstand. It also matters whether the government has a tradition of permanentreflection on and attention to nuclear weapon issues and whether there arestructures that allow for openness and for broader discussions in the country. Inthis context there are great differences between the four Nordic countries.Sweden has the longest and deepest tradition among the four states of discussingnuclear weapon issues at the national level, and it is also a champion of