REYKJAVIK, Iceland—North America and Europe meet beneath this island, where continental plates diverge. Icelanders are trying to balance interests on both sides.
The country of fewer than 400,000 people is an anomaly. A founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it has no standing military. Though rooted in Europe, it isn’t part of the European Union. Traditionally a fishing island, it has become a tech hub thanks to bountiful geothermal and hydroelectric power.
For decades, Icelanders lived austerely in peaceful remoteness. Their location in the icy waters between Greenland and Norway offered NATO a base during the Cold War from which to monitor Soviet naval traffic, but residents worried little about dangers from warships.
