THE NORDIC AREA AS A ZONE OF PEACE

Is the Nordic area a 'zone of peace'? This article divides the concept into five elements: (1) intrastate war, (2) interstate war, (3) milit ary intervention by outside forces, (4) military intervention by force s within the region in areas outside and (5) the overall expectations of peace within the region. Each of the elements are examined empirica lly and the article concludes that the Nordic area is indeed such a zo ne. The emergence of a zone of peace in an area which historically has seen a great deal of domestic and international war is explained by a combination of outside factors, such as the strategic importance of t he area, and internal factors, such as the legitimacy of the governmen t and the homogeneity of the population. Three broad considerations em erge from the study. Firstly, the link between democracy and peace has reinforced the Nordic peace as all the countries concerned have grown into stable democracies. Secondly, higher levels of gender equality w ithin the Nordic countries may have also had a beneficial effect in te rms of preventing violent conflict. And lastly, peaceful conflict reso lutions has been accepted as the sole legitimate means of solving conf licts within the Nordic area, and this has had a marked effect on the foreign policies of the countries in the region.