Aarhus University

Since the late 1990s, the Danish regional film funds have been successful in encouraging the development of audio-visual production and talent outside…

What does postcolonialism refer to when talking about the Nordics? The arts may be the foremost field where we can learn about Nordic postcolonialism…

The Nordic Model’ is a concept that appears frequently in scholarship, media reports, and public debates to refer to the socio-political organization…

From the outside, it is assumed that the populations of the Nordic countries are fairly homogeneous and that there is a relatively high level of gender equality and acceptance of different sexualities and diversity. In short, identity is not much of a problem. On closer examination, however, there are similar tendencies to elsewhere, such as more entrenched identities that can be both inclusive and exclusive. Feelings of identity can give a sense of belonging, or potentially lead to polarisation between different groups. Nevertheless, ‘Nordic’ identity does, at least to some extent, appear to happily co-exist with those of the five nation states (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) as well as other layers of identity.

Listen to a potted history of the Danish immigration policy, 1970-1992 in either English or Danish! This podcast is part of a series where existing material on nordics.info is read out in assorted languages by colleagues and friends. Great for learning Danish or English. / Lyt til historien om Dansk indvandrings- og udlændingepolitik, 1970-1992 på engelsk eller dansk! Denne podcast er del af en serie af podcasts hvor materiale fra nordics.info bliver læst højt på forskellige sprog af venner og kollegaer.

Listen to an account of the Danish decolonisation of Greenland in either English or Danish! This podcast is part of a series where existing material on nordics.info is read out in assorted languages by colleagues and friends. Great for learning Danish or English. / Lyt til historien om Grøndlands afkolonialisering på engelsk eller dansk! Denne podcast er del af en serie af podcasts, hvor materiale fra nordics.info bliver læst højt på forskellige sprog af venner og kollegaer.

Listen to a potted history of the reunification of Denmark in 1920 in either English or Danish! This is the first of several podcasts where existing material on nordics.info is read out in assorted languages by colleagues and friends. Great for learning Danish or English. / Lyt til historien om Danmarks genforening i 1920 på engelsk eller dansk! Denne podcast er den første i en serie af podcasts hvor materiale fra nordics.info bliver læst højt på forskellige sprog af venner og kollegaer.

The reunification of Southern Jutland with Denmark was made possible in 1920 with the German defeat in the First World War. It took place in June 1920 after a process that in fact started with Germany's admission of defeat in October 1918 and its ensuing request for an armistice. The reunification followed a plebiscite in the concerned areas. In Denmark, questions over reunification ignited heated political debate, as there was a widespread wish that southern parts of Schleswig should be incorporated into Danish territory as well.

A look back at how Sweden and Finland dealt with two key crises in the twentieth century may be enlightening during the current Corona crisis. Firstly, the depression in 1930s, which led to Keynesian interventionalism - with some key differences - brought with it a series of steps throughout the following decades in both countries. Secondly, the global oil crisis in 1970s, when the two countries embraced an approach which heavily steered their national economies into becoming guarantors of smooth-functioning capitalism. While their responses were similar to other western democracies, certain aspects were divergent. There are similarities between the economic policies leading up to 1930s and the post-Bretton Woods capitalism that has lasted since 1970s. The current corona crisis may provide an opportunity for political elites in the Nordics as elsewhere to choose similar paths to back then, namely, either a Keynesian-type of countermovement to free market capitalism, or inward-looking xenophobic nationalism.

Since the interwar years, foreign observers have regularly portrayed the Nordic countries as well functioning states, successful in solving crises, with happy populations; in short as good societies. Why did this happen? Are the Nordic countries the way they are simply because they are in a relatively safe corner of the world? Because they have plenty of natural resources and small populations? Or are there more convincing cultural explanations, such as, their strong labour movements and trade unions? Listen to these two podcasts on the Nordic Model to find out. In October 2019, the editor of nordics.info Nicola Witcombe caught up with three researchers after an academic workshop on ‘Nordic Democracy: Challenges, Threats and Possibilities’ at the Institute of Contemporary History at Södertörn University in Sweden. All of the three researchers are involved in the project 'Nordic Model in the global circulation of ideas' and are ideally placed to help us find out more about the development of the Nordic Model - and whether it really should be called ‘a model’ in the first place.