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In the twentieth century, with the advent of aeroplanes and submarines, Iceland, located in the North Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Greenland, suddenly became strategically important. Vladimir Lenin was the first to point this out at the Second Comintern Congress in Moscow in 1920. Later, Winston Churchill quoted the German geographer Karl Haushofer, who said that whoever possessed Iceland held a pistol firmly pointed at England, America, and Canada. Unsurprisingly, in a pre-emptive strike against Germany, Britain occupied Iceland in the spring of 1940, and a year later the United States assumed responsibility for the island’s defence.
Exceptional Past
In secret reports during and after the war, foreign envoys noted the fierce nationalism of the Icelanders and the pride this tiny population took in its language, literature, and history. Not long after the first settlers arrived in Iceland from Norway in 874, this Icelandic exceptionalism was evident. In 1000, the Speaker of the Parliament, Thorgeir Thorkelsson, pointed out that the Icelanders had no king, unlike the other Nordic nations, where kings were notorious for their urge to impose taxes on farmers and to conscript them for wars. When the Norwegian king in 1024 sent an emissary to Iceland to persuade the Icelanders to become his subjects, a farmer, Einar Eyjólfsson, reminded the Icelandic Parliament that kings turned out differently, some well, others badly, and that therefore it was best not to have any kings. German chronicler Adam of Bremen wrote in the 1070s admiringly about the Icelanders, who had, as he put it, no king but the law. Although the Icelanders, under pressure from the Norwegian king, finally surrendered to him in 1262, they cherished the memory of their ancient freedom. The nineteenth-century leader of Iceland’s struggle for independence, the philologist Jón Sigurdsson, often referred to it.
Old Arguments Relevant Again
Now, old arguments have become relevant again, as the Icelandic government holds a referendum on 29 August this year to decide whether Iceland should join the European Union (formally, whether Iceland should renew her 2009 application for membership, shelved in 2013). Opponents of membership emphasise Icelandic exceptionalism and cite the speeches of Thorgeir Thorkelsson and Einar Eyjólfsson. They argue that surrendering to the Norwegian (later Danish) king in 1262 was a fatal mistake, with Iceland ruled from a foreign country by officials with little interest in, and no knowledge of, Icelandic affairs. For the next six centuries, Icelanders were locked in a poverty trap and barely survived. In fact, their condition had become so dire that, after a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in 1783–1784 and a subsequent famine, there was serious talk of evacuating the remaining population.
A Poet’s Protest
The supporters of membership, however, reject Icelandic exceptionalism, dismissing references to the past as either irrelevant or mistaken. They argue that Iceland belongs in Europe and should therefore join the European Union. On 23 June 2026, Iceland’s foremost poet, Hannes Pétursson, a committed euromantic, wrote a widely discussed article to that effect, mocking the attempt to enlist ancient heroes in the campaign against membership. His article is by far the most powerful and evocative statement to date in favour of joining the EU.
In response, I made three points. First, Iceland really was exceptional until 1262, not only because she had no king, but also because she created the great literature of the sagas, chronicles, and Edda poems, as there was no royal power to stifle it. In the second place, the European Union is gradually being transformed into a federal state in which Iceland would be peripheral. Thirdly, Iceland still is exceptional. Repeatedly, she has been ranked the safest country in the world, with the least poverty, the most equal income distribution, and the strongest pension funds. Indeed, the Icelanders enjoy the highest living standards in the world, according to the UN Human Development Index. With the United States guaranteeing her security through a Defence Treaty, and with access to European markets through the European Economic Area (EEA), Iceland has no need for EU membership. She belongs in Europe, but not to Europe.
(The photo above is of the Old Covenant, the conditions the Icelanders presented in 1262 for pledging allegiance to the Norwegian king.)