Information & critical analysis on the Nordic countries
- produced by researchers
2021.01.22 | Article, Anna Derksen, Public policy
During the last century, the situation of people with disabilities in the Nordic welfare states has changed dramatically. For a long time disability was regarded as an issue for the national welfare services, which had a marginalizing effect from a legal point of view, characterized by medical diagnostics, accommodation in mass institutions and…
2021.01.14 | Podcast, Richard Cole, Reputation, Business
In the ninth century, the word ”viking” in many parts of Europe would have conjured up a terrifying image of violent maurauders teeming forth from their longships and inflicting unspeakable carnage. Today, the word ”viking” is invoked in all sorts of contexts, from underwear and hand-dryer brands to the fantasies of business and management leaders…
2021.01.07 | Article, Niels Brimnes, Governance, Nation building
Overshadowed by British and French Imperialism, the small-scale colonialism of some of the Nordic countries can all too easily be downplayed. From the 19th century, the self-image of the Nordic countries as a group of small, neutral nations has probably perpetuated this misconception. However, Denmark-Norway engaged in a variety of colonial…
2020.12.28 | Article, Sally Salminen, Ulrika Gustafsson, Paul Larkin, Literature
In 1936 the Finland-Swedish writer Sally Salminen won a literary prize for her first novel 'Katrina' which saw her life change. That someone like her, unknown and from the working class, could write such a good book was a global sensation - she was a living example of the American dream. From then on, she could stop working as a maid and become…
2020.12.22 | Article, Anna Derksen, Minorities, The Nordics in the World
In 1981, the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP) shed new light on the global situation of people with disabilities with the slogan ‘full participation and equality’. Based on a longer history of Nordic disability rights activism since the 1960s and the assumption that equal rights of disabled people had by and large…