Securitization in the security community: Cooperation and conflict in the Nordic in relation to the Covid-19 crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

At the height of the Cold War, American political scientist Karl Deutsch labeled the Nordic a Security Community due to its “sense of community” in the form of shared practices, interdependency, and peaceful expectations. However, this characterization ended abruptly in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, which instead triggered securitization processes and extraordinary measures, replacing regionalism with nationalism. In contrast, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Nordic stood united. The joint Finnish-Swedish application to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was accompanied by security guarantees, and joint defense statements symbolized a revived security community, overcoming past mistrust and differences. These contrasting responses to external threats highlight the varying dynamics of the Nordic security community under external stress. This article argues that securitization theory—particularly when addressing the interplay between the so-called functional and securitizing actors—offers insight into these dynamics. We concur with the claim that even the so-called mature pluralistic security communities are not static or fully consolidated; instead, they are susceptible to internal tensions that can disrupt established norms of cooperation. Nonetheless, such disruptions do not necessarily signal the collapse of the security community. Rather, these communities can recover and reestablish foundations of trust, collaboration, and shared identity over time.