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Yes, yes, I know. I don't read the paper, but I was linked to it from a blog I read. It's a very good article in spite of being in the TWS.

And the article connects to another thing too, namely the fact that I wouldn't be suprised if a big part of the Swedish enthusiasm for this is based on the chance of selling 48 Gripens each to Norway and Denmark, and eventually also to Finland. After all, a key area in the cooperation is joint procurement. And as Sweden buys a dispropotionate amount of Swedish gear, everyone else will also have to do that (though they already do that to some degree). ;) Sure, the other Nordic countries have arms industries too, but not at all as big part of their economy is there.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:34:52 AM EST
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It's an interesting and informative article (its origin notwithstanding), though its biases shine through in some places. Characterising Finland as a mere Soviet satellite state, as the article does, is a gross oversimplification at best or an outright falsehood at worst. The author is perhaps a bit too stuck in a Cold War frame of how things are.
But anyway, to get to the nutmeat of the article, the economic perspective. That drives a lot of cooperation (yes, there's that word again!) in the Nordic countries, more so than some romantic ideals of "brother nations". Sheer pragmatism, really.

"The basis of optimism is sheer terror" - Oscar Wilde
by NordicStorm (m<-at->sturmbaum.net) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 08:01:51 AM EST
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