From Arctic Exceptionalism to Security Convergence: Nordic Alignment in the European Arctic since 2014

This thesis examines how Nordic security strategies have converged in the European Arctic since 2014 and explains the timing and pace of that convergence. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 transformed the European security environment and contributed to significant changes in Nordic security cooperation and regional security dynamics in the European Arctic.Using a qualitative comparative case study and explaining-outcome process tracing, the thesis analyzes official documents from Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark across four dimensions: threat perceptions, strategic framing, institutional alignment, and defense cooperation. The findings show increasing Nordic strategic convergence driven by increasingly shared threat perceptions regarding Russia and reinforced through deeper institutional integration and defense cooperation, with significant acceleration after 2022. More broadly, the thesis highlights the growing integration of the European Arctic into wider Euro-Atlantic security dynamics.