and less obvious in their extractive practices. No need to go around guns blazing when you have Uncle Sam for that. Being a stable shipping partner has always been the raison d'etre of Scandinavia, and who cares if you participate in the triangle trade that was the economic underpinnings of the trans-atlantic slave trade , sell guns to Nazis and other anti-communist fascists around the world , held sugar plantations that we then SOLD to the US, not freed, just sold off like a bad investment.