The UN - a forgotten cornerstone in Danish foreign policy

The role of the UN has been waning in Danish foreign policy since the of the Cold War. By drawing on notions of foreign policy doctrine and order policy, this article explores how the UN has been marginalized over the years and whether the growing crisis of multilateralism and the rules-based order may pave the way for a revitalization of Danish UN activism. The article argues that in many—arguably most—ways, Danish UN policy has gone through a change in degree, carrying on ‘small state nordicity’ as usual, albeit at a lower level of engagement. In a few, important yet contradictory, ways, it has been a change in kind, which suggest a growing belief in the utility of force alongside a stronger concern for commercial interests and domestic political constraints. Against this backdrop, the article suggests that a coherent Danish response to the deepening crisis of the rules-based order calls for revisiting the UN’s position as a forgotten cornerstone for Danish foreign policy.