The Quick Read
This is a list of all 'Quick Reads' in the order they were published. Quick Reads are intended to provide quick, evidence-based information on a particular topic. They are generally short, encyclopaedic entries of about 1000 words on, for example, specific, named companies, brands, organisations, themes within a subject area etc, or entries on particular terms used in Nordic languages which are not necessarily easily to translate without further discussion. To customise your search, use the 'category' buttons, or the search function.
2020.11.03 | The Quick Read, Martin Alm, Nation building, Reputation
Christian II's legacy in Sweden and Denmark
Christian II (1481-1559) ruled Denmark and Norway from 1513 to 1523 as well as Sweden for some of that time, from 1520 to 1521. In Sweden he has been remembered as the instigator of a bloody massacre, whereas in Denmark he has been lauded as a supporter of the poor against the aristocracy.
2020.09.14 | The Quick Read, Byron J. Nordstrom, Governance
Nordic monarchies
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…
2020.08.17 | The Quick Read, Byron J. Nordstrom, Governance
Sweden’s Saltsjöbaden Agreement
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…
2020.03.30 | The Quick Read, Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir, Elsi Hyttinen, Hafdís Erla Hafsteinsdóttir , Riikka Taavetti, Tuula Juvonen, Íris Ellenberger, Minorities, Gender
Uncovering intra-Nordic queer migration in the 20th century
The view of the Nordic countries today as a place where LGBTIQ individuals and communities can enjoy equality overlooks intra-Nordic variation as well as the complicated histories found in the region. This variation has been a motivation for migration within the Nordics. Much migration, such as from Finland to Sweden and Iceland to Denmark,…
2020.03.12 | The Quick Read, Nicola Witcombe, The Nordics in the World, Globalisation
The 1878 Fireburn uprising in the Danish West Indies
Even after the abolition of slavery in 1848, conditions for workers in the plantations of the Danish West Indies were not much improved. This led to unrest and the Fireburn uprising on St. Croix in 1878. The precise events during the uprising have been little studied, partly due to the court and other records being in Danish. The uprising has…
2020.02.06 | The Quick Read, Helge Ø. Pharo, The Nordics in the World, Globalisation
Norway, the West and the Soviet Union, 1944-48
The term ’bridge-building’ is often used to describe Norwegian foreign policy from the tail end of the Second World War until Norway's turn to the West in early 1948. Even though the term is ambiguous at best, it now occupies an established place in Norwegian historiography, and reflects the perceived position of Norway between East and West in…
2020.01.21 | The Quick Read, Anna Derksen, The Nordics in the World, Globalisation
Disability, development and the Nordics, 1960s-2000
Nordic disability organizations have been carrying out development projects in the Global South since the 1960s. Initially a preventive and rehabilitative approach was taken with, for example, a focus on schools for special education, vocational training and medical care. Although important, this type of aid became increasingly seen as…
2019.12.11 | The Quick Read, Kirstine Helboe Johansen, Elisabeth Tveito Johnsen, Belief systems, Research
Celebrating Christmas at the edge of religion in Scandinavia
Christmas is the most important celebration of the year in the Nordic countries, but it is celebrated in a way that goes beyond its original Christian origins. It develops in areas that are not religious per se, such as in shopping centres, schools and in public and private broadcasting. These non-religious spaces become bearers of cultural…
2019.11.20 | The Quick Read, Petra Broomans, The arts
Ballet in Norway
After its independence in 1905, Norwegian ballet took on a tradition of its own, lately being characterised by classical ballet and modern dance merging and influencing one another. This is demonstrated not least by postmodern dance innovatively integrating folklore elements.
2019.11.13 | The Quick Read, Peter Yding Brunbech, Cooperation, Region-building
Nordic Economic Union (NORDEK): a Danish perspective
The NORDEK plan (so called due to the Swedish name for Nordic Economic Union (NORDiskt EKonomiskt samarbete)) grew out of a Danish initiative to create a Nordic common market. The plan attracted much attention in the years 1967-70. It was the last serious attempt to create a comprehensive Nordic political and economic organisation of cooperation.…