Peder Hofmansen Fihl:
DAVID OG GOLIATH? - David and Goliath? Denmark, the United States and CoCom 1948-54

In the fall of 1950 Denmark reluctantly joined an organization named CoCom, the purpose of which was to control the export of goods from Western countries which could contribute to the military potential of the Eastern bloc. Prior to Denmarks entry into this organization, a series of difficult bilateral discussions between Danish and American diplomats on the subject of export control had already taken place, and the conflicts between the two countries concerning this issue escalated further in the following months. The reason for these conflicts was that Danish economic interests collided with the security policy of the American government. The most striking example of this collision of interests is found in a Danish trade agreement with the Soviet Union in which Denmark undertook to supply the Soviets with two large tankers. The American government tried on several occasions to prevent Denmark from honoring this agreement by threatening to cut off all economic-military aid to Denmark if the tankers were delivered as planned. However, this was met with a Danish counterthreat that such a step could result in Denmark´s withdrawal from CoCom, and at worst NATO. Confronted with this threat the American government decided to give in to the Danish demands. The tankers were delivered as planned, and the economic-military aid from the U.S. was continued in the following years. Thus, the Danish history in Cocom offers a striking example of the mechanisms in international politics which can give a smaller country more liberty of action in the negotiations with a stronger nation than normally assumed, in other words the applicability of the "power of the weak"- concept on the Danish case. .