nordics.info responds to a recent demand for knowledge about the Nordic region and is set up to gather and disseminate reliable, interdisciplinary information to a global and Nordic readership. Content covers different aspects of the Nordic societies, including history, politics, social policy and culture, and comparisons between the Nordics and other geographical areas.
nordics.info seeks to be accessible and relevant to readers while reflecting the complexity of the subject matter. Nordic countries are often presented in either a utopian or a dystopian light. The truth usually lies somewhere between the two and depends on the context, country, subject, and so on – and the reader’s own perspective.
Nordic usually means the five states Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, plus the three autonomous territories connected to these states: the Faroe Islands and Greenland (Denmark) and Åland (Finland). It is not surprising that there are similarities between the Nordic states given the closely entangled histories of the Nordic countries and, in particular:
For more information, read an article on The Nordic Region by Professor Mary Hilson.
Although the term Scandinavia is often used to refer to the whole region, Nordic is becoming increasingly common and this is the usage also adopted on nordics.info. The terms Scandinavia and Scandinavian are often used as synonyms for Norden and Nordic, but some consider that Scandinavia refers just to Denmark, Norway and Sweden (or even just to the Norwegian-Swedish peninsula), and does not include Finland or Iceland.
Defining definitively what the Nordics means is difficult. To some, the Nordic region is empirically grounded in joint politics and history. To others, the term may invoke a particular genre of literature or art, and encompass work done outside the Nordic region. To yet others, it is merely a branding exercise which tries to unite countries which are in fact quite different. And so on.
Is it 'The Next Supermodel' as exclaimed by The Economist in 2013? Is the French President Macron really influenced by the Nordic model of liberalism? Are the Nordic countries ‘havens of gender equality’ as the United Nations have suggested?
Decide for yourself after reading nordics.info.
The idea of the nation state understandably dominates much analysis in many subject areas discussed within academia and society as a whole. Taking a wider interpretative stance and considering regional and comparative perspectives can be informative and result in new and interesting viewpoints.
While embracing the term Nordic, nordics.info does not wish to simplify differences within the countries in the Nordics, and between the Nordics and elsewhere.
Key partners
nordics.info is part of the Nordic university consortium hub ReNEW (Reimagining the Nordic Region in an Evolving World), funded by NordForsk. It draws on the expertise of the six consortium universities in the ReNEW Hub (Copenhagen Business School, Södertörn University, University of Helsinki, University of Iceland, University of Oslo and Aarhus University), but contributions are also made by others. It also builds on the experience of danmarkshistorien.dk, a very successful research-communication website concerned with Denmark and its history in Danish, which is also based in the School of Culture and Society at Aarhus University. Read more about nordics.info partners by clicking here.
We endeavour to ensure accuracy and the highest possible quality content, objectivity and a good mix of material on different states and subject areas. Quantity and spread is largely dependent on the solicited and unsolicited submissions that we receive. Authors are generally responsible for the factual content of their articles and it is inevitable that different interpretations of even empirical studies can be reached. However, you are always welcome to get in touch if you spot a mistake on the website, or if you consider an important analysis or perspective on a subject has been missed.
It is perhaps easier to explain what nordics.info is by setting out what it is not: