Globalising the Nordic Model

The five Nordic countries are often referred to in terms of a 'Nordic model'. This volume examines the Nordic model, and the claims to exceptionalism that it implies, in the light of the global events and movements that have defined our world over the last half century.

The Nordic countries have often been described as exemplary welfare states, noted for their relatively high levels of social equality, international solidarity and political consensus. Paradoxically, the Nordic model has existed and gained renowned in the context of profound global asymmetries, whether in terms of unequal power relations or inequalities in the distribution of resources. This book asks how the Nordic model can be understood as a product of global phenomena and institutions and to what extent - if any - it has also been a driving force in shaping them.

Through a series of case studies and a variety of approaches, the volume explores the entanglements of actors, ideas, identities, experiences and movements since 1970. These include the North-South confrontation in the 1970s, the final period of the Cold War, rising globalization in the 1990s, and the global crises of the 2010s, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andreas Mørkved Hellenes is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, and research fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.
Mary Hilson is professor at the Department of History and Classical Studies, Aarhus University.
Carl Marklund is affiliated scholar at Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University, and senior researcher at Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä.
Byron Zachary Rom-Jensen is post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo.