Kuldkepp, M; (2021) Scandinavian Neutrality in the Crimean War. In: Badem, C, (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of the Crimean War. (pp. 165-177). Routledge: London, UK.

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Abstract

The two Scandinavian kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark declared their neutrality in the Crimean War right at the outset of the conflict. They also maintained it throughout the war. However, their neutrality did not go uncontested. Denmark, caught between the great powers, was content with its role as a small-state neutral, but found itself in the position of having to fend off constant Allied demands. Sweden, which had its own lingering great power ambitions and still resented the 1809 loss of Finland to Russia, saw its neutrality as more of a matter of cost-benefit calculation. The Swedish King, Oscar I, repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to bring his country to war if the conditions were favourable enough. Nevertheless, the right offer from the Allies never quite materialized and the king's ambitious plans came to nothing. Today, Danish and Swedish neutrality in the war appears as a milestone event in what became a successful tradition of Scandinavian neutrality, reaching down to the 20th century and, in the case of Sweden, even to the Cold War. However, a closer analysis reveals the essential fragility of this tradition. Scandinavian belligerency was only narrowly avoided and against the intentions of some Scandinavians themselves.

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