This study examines and analyses the security and foreign policy behaviour of Austria, Finland and Sweden during the first decade after the end of the Cold War. In particular it investigates these countries’ responses to the developments that occurred after 1989 in Europe and within such key institutions as the EU, the WEU and NATO. Drawing on original primary data gleaned from over a hundred interviews held in Austria, Finland, Sweden, Britain and Belgium with a wide range of experts including political leaders, diplomats, military personnel and foreign and security advisers, this book uncovers the political and strategic rationale that has shaped the post-Cold War security and foreign policies of Austria, Finland and Sweden. The author demonstrates that these countries have increasingly participated in the construction of European security but with limitations resulting from their continuing commitment to military neutrality.

The Author: Laura C. Ferreira-Pereira holds a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in European Studies, both from the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, and in 2003 received her Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury (UK). She is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International History at the Department of International Relations and Public Administration, University of Minho. She is the Head of the Research Unit in Political Science and International Relations of the University of Minho (NICPRI) and a Member of the Steering Committee of the ECPR’s Standing Group on International Relations.

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