Conciliation Through Regulation: Norway’s Signing of an INCSEA Agreement with the Soviet Union in 1990

In 1990, Norway signed its first bilateral military agreement with the Soviet Union, the Incidents at Sea (INCSEA) accord. The agreement, crafted on the 1972 US–Soviet INCSEA template, established a code of conduct to prevent unintended military incidents, and provisions for information exchange and bilateral consultations to avert escalation into security policy crises. This article examines the background and making of the agreement from Norway’s perspective. Drawing on previously classified governmental material, it establishes the previously unexplored process that led to the signing, and ponders why Norway, traditionally reluctant to bilateral agreements with its superpower neighbour, chose to enter into this military cooperation. The findings indicate that the agreement’s limited, practical approach to crisis management made it acceptable as a naval regulation measure, yet INCSEA also stands forth as an important political effort to signal a conciliatory approach towards the Soviet Union. The article also highlights how allied considerations and a framework of similar agreements shaped and enabled Norway’s bilateral reassurance policy towards the Soviet Union