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Abstract
This article is predicated on the assumption that small states need economic, political and societal shelter in order to prosper, and applies this theory to the case of Iceland in the period 1941–2006 – from the American occupation of Iceland to the closure of the US military base in the country. The authors argue that Iceland enjoyed essential shelter, for its development and prosperity, from the United States. The US also provided extensive diplomatic and military backing to Iceland, and profoundly influenced societal affairs in the country. Furthermore, Iceland received extensive societal shelter from the Nordic states, and economic and political shelter from international organizations. However, American and Nordic shelter did not come without costs.
Acknowledgements
We thank Olivia Houck for constructive comments on earlier drafts of this paper. This research was funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union - the Jean Monnet Networks project 'Navigating the Storm: The Challenges of Small States in Europe'.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Thorhallsson, ‘Iceland’s External Affairs’; Thorhallsson and Kristinsson, ‘Iceland’s External Affairs from 1400’; Thorhallsson and Joensen, ‘Iceland’s External Affairs from 1550–1815’; Thorhallsson and Joensen, ‘Iceland’s External Affairs from the Napoleonic’.
2 See Jónsson, Íslenskt þjóðerni.
3 For instance, historians have provided more nuanced takes on foreign trade and its effect on Icelandic society (Þorláksson, Sjórán og siglingar; Þorsteinsson, Enska öldin); the monopoly trade system, as an economic system and not a deliberate tool of Danish oppression (Gunnarsson, Upp er boðið Ísaland; Andrésson, Verzlunarsaga Íslands); the importance of new knowledge through foreign contacts (Sigurðsson, Upplýsingin á Íslandi; Sigurðsson, Erlendir straumar); and Iceland’s position in the Danish kingdom (Friðriksson and Þór, Kaupmannahöfn sem höfuðborg Íslands; Agnarsdóttir, Great Britain and Iceland).
4 Thorhallsson and Steinsson, ‘Small State Foreign Policy’. See, for example, Waltz, Theory, 79.
5 Handel, Weak States; Katzenstein, Corporatism and Change; Katzenstein, Small States.
6 Thorhallsson, Domestic Buffer.
7 Vital, Inequality of States, 152–4.
8 Habeeb, Power and Tactics.
9 Thorhallsson, Role of Small States; Alesina and Spolaore, Size of Nations.
10 See Alesina and Spolaore, Size of Nations.
11 See Rokkan and Urwin, Economy, Territory, Identity.
12 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 32.
13 Whitehead, Hlutleysi Íslands, 22, 43.
14 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 36; Whitehead, ‘Hlutleysi Íslands’, 47, 55–7.
15 Valdimarson, Ísland í eldlínu, 52; Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 38; Whitehead, ‘Hlutleysi Íslands’, 54–9.
16 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 40–1.
17 Ibid., 51.
18 Valdimarson, Ísland í eldlínu, 52.
19 Ibid., 52–3.
20 Ibid., 54.
21 Ibid., 62.
22 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 77; Ingimundarson, ‘Role of NATO’, 288; Whitehead, The Ally, 33.
23 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 77, 120, 126–7.
24 Ibid., 129, 131.
25 Ingimundarson, ‘Role of NATO’, 288.
26 Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 42–3.
27 Defense of Iceland: Agreement Between the United States and the Republic of Iceland, 5 May 1951.
28 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 11; Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 12.
29 Ingimundarson, ‘Role of NATO’, 290.
30 Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 70.
31 Ibid., 74–5.
32 Ibid., 76.
33 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 169.
34 Ingimundarson, ‘Role of NATO’, 290.
35 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 10.
36 Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 172–3.
37 Steinsson, ‘The Cod Wars’; Steinsson, ‘Neoclassical Realism’.
38 Thorsteinsson, Utanríkisþjónusta Íslands, 603–4; Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 377; Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 144, 146, 162–3; Jóhannesson, Troubled Waters, 58.
39 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 144: Jóhannesson, ‘How ‘Cod War’ Came’, 459.
40 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör 151–2, 212.
41 Ibid., 243–4; Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 137.
42 Jóhannesson, ‘How ‘Cod War’ Came’, 567.
43 Jóhannesson, Troubled Waters, 116–18.
44 Steinsson, ‘The Cod Wars’.
45 Thorsteinsson, Utanríkisþjónusta Íslands, 595–6; Jóhannesson, Troubled Waters, 82–3; Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 137.
46 Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 135.
47 Keohane and Nye, Power and Interdependence, 87–8.
48 Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 142–3.
49 Ingimundarson, ‘Role of NATO’, 300–1; Ingimundarson, Rebellious Ally, 139–40; Bailes and Thorhallsson, ‘Iceland and the European’, 334–5.
50 Whitehead, ‘Hlutleysi Íslands’, 34.
51 Exchange of Messages between the Prime Minister of Iceland and the President of the United States. 1–10 July 1941.
52 Snævarr, Haglýsing Íslands, 44, 46.
53 Ibid., 44.
54 Ibid.; Jónsson and Snævarr, Iceland’s Response, 376.
55 Ibid., 377–8.
56 Kjartansson, Ísland á 20. öld, 238–9.
57 Jónsson and Snævarr, Iceland’s Response, 383.
58 Gunnarsson, ‘Ísland og Marshalláætlunin’, 95–7.
59 Jónsson and Snævarr, ‘Iceland’s Response’, 385.
60 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 159; Jónsson and Snævarr, Iceland’s Response, 385–6.
61 Gunnarsson, ‘Ísland og Marshalláætlunin’, 93–4.
62 Ásgeirsson, Þjóð í hafti, 184–5.
63 Gíslason, ‘Íslenzk efnahagsþróun’, 167.
64 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 150–1.
65 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu.
66 Haralz, ‘Hvað sögðu ráðgjafarnir?’, 260–1.
67 Haralz, ‘Hvað sögðu ráðgjafarnir?’
68 Haralz, ‘Hvað sögðu ráðgjafarnir?’, 262–4.
69 Haralz, ‘Hvað sögðu ráðgjafarnir?’, 301.
70 Jónsson and Snævarr, Iceland’s Response, 391–2.
71 Ibid., 401.
72 Snævarr, ‘Ísland og alþjóðaefnahagsstofnanir’, 251–3.
73 Ingimundarson, Í eldlínu, 289–92; Haralz, ‘Hvað sögðu ráðgjafarnir?’, 291–5.
74 Ásgeirsson, Þjóð í hafti, 184; Jónsson and Snævarr, Iceland’s Response, 386.
75 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 330; Jónsson and Snævarr, Iceland’s Response, 383.
76 Bernharðsson, Íslendingar og efnahagsaðstoð, 69–72.
77 Thorhallsson and Vignisson, ‘The Special Relationship’, 121.
78 Bernharðsson, Íslendingar og efnahagsaðstoð, 95.
79 Ásgeirsson, Alfreðs saga.
80 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 11.
81 National Economic Institute, ‘Merchandise Exports’.
82 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör, 11.
83 Kristinsson, Embættismenn og stjórnmálamenn, 129.
84 Interview with former official in the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 2016.
85 Interview with official at the US Embassy in Reykjavik, May 2007.
86 Ingimundarson, Uppgjör.
87 Guðmundsson, Rokksaga Íslands.
88 Hjálmarsson, Eru ekki allir.
89 Harðarson and Kristinssson, ‘Icelandic Parliamentary Election’.
90 Jónsson, Iceland, NATO, 16.
91 Corgan, Iceland and its Alliances.
92 Hansen and Loftsson, Valdatafl í Valhöll, 171–8.
93 Jónsson, ‘Icelandic Welfare State’, 255–8.
94 Ibid., 261.
95 Ibid., 265.
96 Ólafsson, Íslenska leiðin; Ólafsdóttir and Ólafsson, Economy, Politics.
97 Thorsteinsson, Útanríkisþjónusta Íslands, 425.
98 Kristjánsdóttir, ‘Iceland: Student Mobility’, 101–3.
99 Harðarson, ‘Icelandic Security’, 310.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Baldur Thorhallsson
Baldur Thorhallsson is the head and professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Iceland. He is also Jean Monnet Chair in European Studies and Programme and Research Director at the Centre for Small States at the University. His research focus is primarily on small-state studies, European integration and Iceland’s foreign policy. Address: University of Iceland, Saemundargata 2, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland [email: [email protected]]
Sverrir Steinsson
Sverrir Steinsson is a researcher and instructor in the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Iceland. Address: University of Iceland, Saemundargata 2, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland. [email: [email protected]]
Thorsteinn Kristinsson
Thorsteinn Kristinsson is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at Lund University. Address: Department of Political Science, Lund University, Paradisgatan 5H, Lund, Sweden [email: [email protected]]