Research areas

Primary research areas

Hans Mouritzen has developed theory on the autonomy of international organisations; small states’ foreign policy in a spatial context (‘constellation theory’); how external danger affects domestic cohesion; and how historical memory impacts foreign policy decisions (‘presence of the past’ theory).

Current research

Asymmetric relations (great power/small state)

A crucial trend in contemporary international politics is the increasing importance of bilateral at the expense of multilateral diplomacy. This is an unfavourable trend for small states. This project targets bilateral relations between a great power and a small state. We have seen several examples in the 21. century, among Nordic states alone, how one of them has been ‘disciplined’ by Russia, China, India or the US in the wake of alleged missteps. The project’s focus is on ‘divide and rule’ as a great power strategy and dependency spreading as a possible small state strategy.

The concept of ‘action space’

The concept of ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ (action space) is analysed on the basis of small states’ situations (see the above project) and with inspiration from different national strategies vis à vis the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other projects

Co-editor of ‘Danish Foreign Policy Review’ and participation in FSPS projects.