Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre

Worldwide Peer

Peer Gynt Stemnet, Gålåvatnet, Norway,
Article for the booklet,
August 2006

Peer Gynt as foreign policy maker?

The social anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen writes in his afterword to the play that Peer Gynt is certainly not someone who is afraid of globalisation. He is probably the only pro-EU person in his village, and supports the regulation of international trade under the WTO – as long as he does not lose out, and the rules can be broken.

I am not the first person to suggest that there are two lines in foreign policy that should not be played out to the full. One is the Peer Gynt line: going round about, dodging the issue, demanding exceptions and special measures, being sufficient unto yourself, free-riding on the efforts of others, shifting the blame. The other is the Brand line: the approach of an isolated, stubborn, uncompromising zealot, whom many fear but few listen to, preaching to all the world, being put to the test and digging your heels in to the very last.

In March 1942, in one of his talks to his fellow inmates in the Grini prison of war camp, Francis Bull pointed out that Peer Gynt’s character has three dangerous tendencies: his tendency to tell lies, daydream and evade reality, his egotism – being sufficient unto himself, and his cowardly avoidance of taking any serious decisions. All three are universal characteristics, but Ibsen commented that he had a particular type of Norwegian in mind when he was writing the play: a happy-go-lucky fellow, a cheerful, boastful dreamer.

Francis Bull saw Brand as a guiding star that “gave comfort and strength”, for there are “ideas – or ideals – that are so lofty that they are worth making a sacrifice for”. The inmates in Grini were in no doubt as to which of the two – Peer Gynt or Brand – they needed as a role model.

And I have to admit that I too find Brand rather fascinating.

Perhaps the best foreign policy is to be found somewhere between the two extremes – with high ideals, strong will and some stubbornness on the one hand, but balanced by imagination, adaptability, humour and power of attraction on the other.

We have an important task in relation to the rest of the whole world, as Ibsen pointed out. Foreign policy is not about taking the path of least resistance, but about attaining high ideals. Foreign policy is paving the way for self-realisation, freedom and justice. Both in our own country and, in our world where there is so much subjection and suppression, also for others. Pursuing a foreign policy means following a fixed course that is clear, recognisable and has sound values as ballast. It could be said that what unites Brand and Peer Gynt is the clarion call: “Man, to thyself be true.”

One thing is certain: Ibsen has presented us with characters and issues that bear endless discussion – in every language and on every continent, for Peer Gynt is the most famous Norwegian cosmopolitan in world literature.

So the Norwegian authorities do not actually need to “promote” either Ibsen or Peer Gynt. It is rather we who need to look for support, strength and enrichment in our great dramatist’s works.

Henrik Ibsen lived abroad for almost as long as Peer Gynt – for a total of 27 years. And both he and his great work – his great character – Peer Gynt have brought many foreigners to Norway.

Here, at Gålåvatnet, all these threads are brought together. Worldwide Peer. I have seen a performance myself. It was unforgettable: a fine example of Norwegian culture, an outstanding artistic performance, all built upon a strong fundament of local voluntary effort.

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Read more about Ibsen-and the Ibsen Year 2006 on Ibsen Worldwide and on Ibsen.net