Denmark and international peacemaking
Denmark puts emphasis on such an aspect as the countrys authority in the international arena and its influence on all processes occurring on the European continent. It should be noted that the state of the national armed forces and their participation in international peacekeeping is one of the determining criteria of this factor. However, in 1949, when Denmark joined the bloc of the founding countries of NATO, it stated that it was not ready to place military bases and weapons on the territory of the state during peacetime [2]. The emphasis was also placed on limiting the military activities of other states on Bornholm. It should be noted that this information does not apply to such regions as Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Denmark has been participating in International Peacekeeping since 1948. Participation in this activity began when 11 soldiers of the kingdom were sent to the Middle East under the UN flag as military observers as part of a multinational military contingent. A year later, 6 military observers were sent from Denmark such as other representatives from 45 countries [1]. The newly formed UN mission envisioned monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. The events of these years are considered to be the beginning of Denmarks participation in the UN international peacekeeping forces.
Gradually, the geography of active participation of the Danish troops has been increasing. From the mid-1950s to the beginning of the 21st century, Denmark took part in peacekeeping operations in 18 UN missions. The number of Danish blue helmets started expanding and increasing from those times. A good example is the number of Danish military observers in relation to the year of participation in operations (Annex). For example:
mission on the Iraq-Kuwait border (UNIKOM) and in Georgia (UNOMIG)
Danish military observer
1 Danish military observer in the Hebrons group and in the mission Peninsula Prevlaka
3,606 Danish troops were sent to the territory of the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR)
However, the Danish blue helmets could not boast of with a large number of soldiers or police officers in every missions. But for the rotation, it showed that even the small number of people who took part in the operations suggests that Denmark is permanently involved in international peacekeeping.
It also should be noted that Denmark took part not only in UN operations, but also in NATO and the OSCE (see Attachment 1). The gained experience has served as a starting point in training, equipping and training since 1994 of the Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion, together with its colleagues-states such as Norway, Finland and Sweden. That battalion consisted of military personnel from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and was promptly ready by the end of 1997. [2]
As for the training of a peacekeeping contingent which carries out peace-enforcement operations, peacekeeping and humanitarian, under the auspices of international organizations and the United Nations on 1 July 1994, a rapid response brigade was formed that consisted of 4,500 people. Later that team also became part of the NATO rapid response.
Due to the union consisting of Denmark and such states as Canada, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Norway and Sweden a multinational UN High Readiness Brigade SHIRBRIG was formed on September 2 in 1997. The main function of this brigade is constant readiness for the relocation to any part of the world within 1530 days.
Foreign experts note that the role of Denmark in maintaining international peacekeeping is one of the leading ones [3]. Denmark is also one of the few countries that provides a resource such as warships for various operations.
The authorities of Denmark believe that international peacekeeping have a great influence on the image of Denmark on the international scene and also influences the decisions made on the EU level. Therefore, the resources allocated by Denmark differ in scale. For example:
The permanent strength of the armed forces is 30,000;
The military budget of Denmark is equal to the costs of the countrys participation in NATOs military programs and amounts to 1.4% of the countrys annual GDP;
About 44,000 people took part in NATO operations; and so on.
Conclusion
International peacekeeping is one of the key points of Denmarks foreign policy as its main aspect is the maintenance of favorable relations with other countries. Also I should point out that the Danish Kingdom has a fairly good and long history of relations with the other countries.
Danish military personnel worthily represent their country abroad, which favorably affects the countrys foreign policy.
References
1. Grishaeva L.E. Russia and the UN: history and modernity. M., 2007
2. Ravens K. Peacekeeping in the Nordic countries: responses to challenges. World Economy and International Relations, 2011, No. 12, p. 5768
3. Roberts, Adam; Kingsbury, Benedict, ed. (1994). United Nations, a divided world: UN roles in international relations (2nd ed.). Oxford University.
4. S. Shapkin, Foreign Military Review No. 11/2001, Denmark and international peacekeeping.
5. Zapariy Yu. V. UN peacekeeping operations and the Soviet Union: policy and practice 2004, 31, pp.153
6. Information and analytical portal: interaction of Denmark and NATO [Internet source]. Retrieved from: http://nat.rf/ru/denmark.html (Accessed date: 2018, Sep 16).
Annex
Forgotten referendum of Denmark
Polina Sakharova, 3rd year student of the faculty of International relations and geopolitics, Institute of World Civilizations, Moscow
Abstract.The article is devoted to the Danish referendum, which contributed to the restriction of state sovereignty and its role in the European area. Studies have shown that in connection with this issue, the Danish government is constantly faced with the question of solving the so-called integration dilemma, which involves the choice between the loss by the state of part of national sovereignty and greater integration into the EU structures. Based on the analysis, the author shows how all political institutions and a democratic society interact on this issue to identify a unanimous decision on the role of their state in the EU.
Key words:referendum, sovereignty, justice, state security, integration.
The referendum is quite a frequent phenomenon in the democratic policy of the EU countries. Despite the fact that the European society will introduce a sufficiently active civil position, at the same time difficult questions are raised for voting, which are not always clear to the public.
Denmarks participation in the EU (since 1973) is limited to the four reservations that the kingdom made for the citizens of the country to approve the 1992 Maastricht Treaty in a referendum. All reservations were the result of a national compromise that was achieved thanks to political parties (except the Progress Party) and recorded in the Edinburgh agreement of the EU.
The restrictions concern the economic and monetary union (the single currency was not introduced in Denmark), cooperation in the sphere of security and justice (the country agreed to participate in the legal process only on an interstate basis), as well as the problems of European citizenship, which was separately indicated by the Amsterdam Treaty 1997 year (the citizenship of Denmark is considered to be a priority in relation to European citizenship).