Byron J. Nordstrom

Universities are important in the Nordic countries because of a generally held belief that education is essential to democracy and it is a responsibility of the state to provide lifelong educational opportunities. Universities are just one piece in a total educational picture that also includes other on-going options for adults of all ages and a demand for an increasing level of education required in the job market. It is widely considered that state-supported education is essential to securing good jobs and furthering economic development of the Nordic countries.

Anna Lindh was a Swedish Social Democratic politician and a rising star within the party. She took an active part in shaping policy regarding the Balkans and EU enlargement, for example, before she was fatally stabbed in 2003.

Of the Nordic countries, only Finland and Sweden have developed nuclear powered electricity generation capacities. The decisions to do so were shaped by at least three factors: both countries' lack of domestic fossil fuel resources; limited hydro-electric capacity; and the ever-increasing domestic and commercial electricity demands. A fourth factor that has become increasingly important is the commitment in these countries to develop clean energy sources and eliminate entirely the use of fossil fuels – in part to combat climate change.

The political systems in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have evolved over centuries of development as hereditary, ‘democratic,’ constitutional monarchies. (Finland and Iceland are presidential republics.) Today the powers of the crown in these countries are strictly circumscribed, and the duties of the Nordic monarchs largely involve public relations both internal and international.

The Saltsjöbaden Agreement was a very influential collective bargaining agreement between employers and employees that was reached in 1938, and a key building block to labor market relations under the long-standing social democrat rule throughout much of the 20th century. Perhaps surprisingly, it is largely based on the parties organizing themselves without much intervention from government.

Constitutions set out the rights of individuals living in the Nordic countries, enshrining fundamental principles, such as full equality before the law and innocence until proved guilty. Contemporary law in the Nordic countries is based on compiled codes and/or comprehensive collections of statutes.

The Nordic countries have seen a number of important changes to their populations since the end of World War II. Perhaps most notable among these are growth, increased diversity, and gradual aging. Labour migration has also played a role and detailed people registers mean that research of all kinds can be undertaken with accessible and wide-ranging data on the Nordic populations.

Between 1923 and 1941, Nordic governments enacted marriage limitation, sterilisation, castration and abortion laws intended to curb reproduction by the mentally ill and disabled, transmitters of inheritable diseases, and (in some cases) social undesirables.

Emigration has been a part of population mobility in the Nordic region for centuries. The numbers were generally very small until the mid-nineteenth century when a wide variety of 'push factors', such as limited farming opportunities, and 'pull factors', such as the promise of cheap or free land, led to mass migration from Norden. In the twenty-first century there has been relatively little out-migration, and it has been confined largely to specific groups such as those moving to other Nordic countries, the EU, or abroad to work.

Along with their trade union counterparts, employer federations have been key players in the negotiation of nationwide agreements on wages and working conditions, as well as contributors to governmental policy formulation. In addition, this collaboration has served at times to obscure the focus of employers’ federations on economic growth and entrepreneurial development through a less restricted capitalism. Nevertheless, fundamental habits of consultation and consensus building were established following the early collective agreements in the first part of 20th century.