University of Helsinki

Proficiency in English is both widespread and high-level in the Nordic countries, and there are legitimate historical and socio-political reasons for this. But it should not be assumed that everyone is equally proficient, nor that the power of the English language goes unquestioned.

There are three autonomous regions in the Nordic countries: Greenland and the Faroe Islands are part of Denmark, and the Åland Islands are part of Finland. Since the Nordic Council was established in 1952 and the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1971, these regions have found ways of having their say in the formal arena of Nordic cooperation - but some argue their voices are still not sufficiently heard.

One of the most influential figures in Finnish politics during the post-war period, Karl-August Fagerholm was a social democrat who served as a Prime Minister for three terms and speaker of parliament for five terms. He was a member of parliament for 36 years in total and was a keen supporter of Nordic cooperation.

Given Estonia’s history and its geographical location, it is not surprising that it is an obvious trade and cultural partner for the Nordic countries. In 1992, shortly after Estonia gained independence from the Soviet Union, it received observer status at the Nordic Council along with Latvia and Lithuania. Nordic connections since then have included Estonian ex-President’s Toomas Henrik Ilves’ efforts for nordification and the FinEst Link.

The Scandinavian Communist Federation was the Nordic Communist Parties' attempt to establish a climate conducive to revolutionary movements in their respective countries at the beginning of last century.

The Nordic countries collaborate around civil security in order to try to prevent and deal with disasters, accidents, crises and emergencies caused by people, nature, industries or technology. Many Nordic politicians see civil security not only as a question of national importance, but as part of a “borderless” Nordic society.

Back in the 1980s and 90s, support for joining the European Union in Iceland was split into three, a bit like it is today: for, against and undecided. But popularity for the EU has slowly fluctuated between these two periods of time due to the financial crisis, Brexit and domestic politics etc.

Post-war attempts to formalise Nordic security and defence cooperation in the late 1940s floundered and were overtaken by Norway, Denmark and Iceland becoming founding members of NATO in 1949. Throughout much of the second half of the 20th century, and even to this day, defence and security has been markedly absent from the agenda of Nordic cooperation, despite significant collaboration being undertaken on the ground. In the last 10 years, concrete attempts have been made to formalise cooperation with mixed results. Today, the Nordic countries view security as a broad concept that includes civil security, terror, cyber threats, climate change and the Arctic region.

After World War I had been raging for six months and the pressure to choose a side was mounting, the kings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden met to find a common position. On the surface, the meeting was a success - the three countries were united in their neutrality. But, behind the scenes there were bubbling tensions due to differing perspectives on Nordic cooperation and the wider geopolitics of Europe.