What features determine mall states’ activities in the international arena? Iceland’s approach to foreign relations until the mid-1990’s

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the features that have determined Iceland’s international activity and to what extent Iceland has been an active participant in the international system. The paper focuses on the period from the time Iceland took full charge of the conduct of its foreign policy from Denmark in 1940 until 1994, fifty years after Iceland became a Republic and joined the European Economic Area (EEA). At the time of Iceland’s entry to the United Nations (UN) in 1946, it had the lowest population of all UN member states. Iceland soon joined most of the international organizations created in Europe and internationally after the Second World War. Iceland’s neighbouring states, the Nordic states, became pro-active within the UN and other international institutions, and the interesting question is to what extent Iceland, as a small newly-independent state, became involved in the international community.