Helge Ø. Pharo

The term ’bridge-building’ is often used to describe Norwegian foreign policy from the tail end of the Second World War until Norway's turn to the West in early 1948. Even though the term is ambiguous at best, it now occupies an established place in Norwegian historiography, and reflects the perceived position of Norway between East and West in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. The term points to the Norwegian desire to help maintain a workable post-war relationship between the wartime allies.

The Foundation for Assistance for Underdeveloped Areas, or India Foundation as it was known, marked the beginning of Norwegian international development aid in 1952. Against the backdrop of the Marshall Plan and the burgeoning Cold War, there were persuasive political reasons for the initiative, over and above its purported purpose to assist India.

Immediately before and after the Nordic Council was founded in 1952, there was much debate over what form cooperation should take amongst the Scandinavian/Nordic countries, primarily with respect to the economy and defence. Norway’s attempts to support a customs union/common market in 1947, 1950 and 1954 belied its repeated blocking of initiatives for closer cooperation. The Labour government’s pro-Nordic impulses were blocked by international as well as domestic concerns. The creation of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) in 1959/60 created a way out of the conundrum.