Abstract

The political structures of the Scandinavian nations have long stood as models for government and public policy. This comprehensive study examines how that “Nordic model” of government developed, as well as its far-reaching influence.
            Respected Scandinavian historian Mary Hilson surveys the political bureaucracies of the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—and traces their historical influences and the ways they have changed, individually and as a group, over time. The book investigates issues such as economic development, foreign policy, politics, government, and the welfare state, and it also explores prevailing cultural perceptions of Scandinavia in the twentieth century. Hilson then turns to the future of the Nordic region as a unified whole within Europe as well as in the world, and considers the re-emergence of the Baltic Sea as a pivotal region on the global stage.
            The Nordic Model offers an incisive assessment of Scandinavia yesterday and today, making this an essential text for students and scholars of political science, European history, and Scandinavian studies.
 

"Mary Hilson has made a major contribution to Scandinavian studies in this concise, thorough, and well-written survey of contemporary Nordic history . . . This book is informative, very readable, and even inspiring." – Scandinavian Studies

"This book contributes to a better understanding of the Nordic model by highlighting the convergences with and divergences from the rest of Europe and within Scandinavia itself. In doing so, it challenges the preconceived notion that Scandinavia is an entirely distinct region, politically, economically and socially."– Journal of Contemporary European Studies