Book excerpt: This analysis of the delicate Nordic Balance and the role it has played in recent history is an excellent introduction to the study of Soviet policy in Scandinavia. It focuses on the history of mutual entanglement among the Slavs, Germans, and Nordic peoples in peace as well as in war. The "Nordic Balance" meant that the NATO membership of Norway, Denmark, and Iceland was balanced by Finland's security relationship with Russia, while Sweden's armed neutrality acted as a buffer between the Eastern and Western spheres of influence. The concept embodied a tacit recognition by all parties that this balance was stable and that any attempt to tilt it would meet a corresponding reaction from the other side.