Imagining Norden - branding and Nordic reputation:
Imagining Norden - branding and Nordic reputation
Perceptions of the Nordics abound, from the reputation of the Nordic welfare state to that of interior design. Content on this page seeks to examine the construction and deconstruction of the different 'brands' of the region; why, when, where and how the region, its individual countries, its way of life, what it produces etc are branded. New articles are added regularly.
2020.06.23 | Article, Cornelia Fast, Julia Grimm, Naghmeh Nasiritousi, Business, Research
Addressing climate change the Nordic way: Motives of Swedish companies for taking action
It is Sweden’s goal to become one of the world’s first fossil fuel free welfare states, and many Swedish companies are voluntarily working to reduce their climate impact. The reasons for this are manifold; they primarily involve risk management, a sense of responsibility, management of reputation, and addressing the demands of various…
2020.06.11 | Article, Zhen Im, Business, Public policy, Research
Nordic workers vulnerable due to automation: an introduction
Widespread economic transformations, such as increasing automation, tend to negatively affect some groups more than others in the Nordic countries, as elsewhere. Workers who risk losing their jobs to machines or other means are a societal concern; it is, after all, not their fault that society is changing. Importantly, not only are these workers…
2020.05.11 | Outlook, Ilkka Kärrylä, Public policy, Economy
Nordic public debt: the dangers of restricting public spending due to the covid-19 crisis
The prevailing economic doctrine in the Nordics and Europe has it that, the lower the public debt, the more room there is for economic stimulation in downturns, such as the current covid-19 crisis. Denmark, Norway and Sweden with their comparatively low levels of public debt were able to announce relatively large economic crisis packages fairly…
2020.04.21 | Article, Francesco Zavatti, The Borders of the Nordics, Cooperation, Architecture & design
A short history of the Oresund Bridge
A globally renowned icon, the bridge is in fact part rail/road bridge and part tunnel spanning the Oresund (or ‘The Sound’) between Denmark and Sweden. It was completed in 2000, but it has a rather long and convoluted history. It is a symbol of many and sometimes opposing things: Nordic cooperation in the economy and engineering, as well as the…
2020.04.16 | Outlook, Sami M Outinen, Public policy, Economy
The Nordic response to the Great Depression – an economic approach to the Corona crisis?
A look back at how Sweden and Finland dealt with two key crises in the twentieth century may be enlightening during the current Corona crisis. Firstly, the depression in 1930s, which led to Keynesian interventionalism - with some key differences - brought with it a series of steps throughout the following decades in both countries. Secondly, the…
2020.03.24 | Article, Frog, Culture, Reputation
Folklore in the Nordic countries
Folklore is a phenomenon found in all cultures. Falling under the umbrella of what is now called ‘intangible cultural heritage’ by UNESCO, it encompasses everything from Finnish improvisational rap and medieval eddic poetry to internet memes or wearing a crown of candles on St Lucia’s day. Nordic folklore research has played a significant role in…
2020.03.11 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Stefan Jarl (b. 1941)
Stefan Jarl is one of the most important and influential documentarists in contemporary Swedish cinema. Stefan Jarl was born in 1941 in Skara. From a left-wing perspective, he has highlighted social and environmental problems. Jarl has promoted the documentary as an art form, and from 1995 to 2005 he was curator of the ‘Little film festival’ in…
2020.03.01 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Jarl Kulle 1927-1997
The Swedish actor Jarl Kulle was a distinguished and popular actor working in a wide range of genres from children’s film to the cinema of Ingmar Bergman. He was born in Rebbelberga, Skåne, in 1927.
2020.02.21 | Article, Tuuli Veikkanen, The Nordics in the World, Reputation
An introduction to Nordic arms exports since 1990, with a focus on Finland
All Nordic countries, excluding Iceland, have exported weapons to countries involved in armed conflicts or violating human rights during the post-Cold War period. As Nordic countries often speak for peace and humanitarian work in the international arena, their arms exports have repeatedly drawn criticism. However, Nordic countries have also been…
2020.02.21 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Kjell Grede 1936 - 2017
The Swedish film director Kjell Grede made a significant contribution to film and television from 1967 to 1990s, heading the Dramatic Institute in Stockholm for nearly a decade.