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Larisa Kangaspuro is a Research Coordinator at Russian and Eurasian Studies (Aleksanteri Institute), University of Helsinki. For more information about Larisa click here.
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.