A four-steps reassessment of Norwegian security policy

This article argues that the development in formulating Norwegian security policy has overrun the development of Norwegian defence structures. These h ave been exposed to a bare minimum of adjustments following the Cold War, w hile the formulation of security policy has leaped ahead in four steps. First came three, which cannot be separated in a timely dimension, although they are distinct with respect to quality. The first step came with the in creased focus on peace enforcement at the beginning of the last decade. The second step came with the establishment of reaction forces according to Na to's strategic concept from 1991. The third step was completed with Nato ta king on a role out of area, dependent on the UN for authorisation. The four th step was a consequence of the war over Kosovo at the end of the decade w hen the Nato members also released themselves from the Security Council in the question of mandate. Following the developments in international relations Norwegian authorities reformulated national security policy accordingly. Increased focus on inte rnational military operations combined with decreased dependence on the UN has thus been the main tendencies in the evolution of Norwegian security po licy. Many will argue that these changes to a greater extent also need to b e reflected in national defence structures.