EUROPP – Nordic countries are not as similar or as ‘exceptional’ as conventional wisdom would suggest
▻http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2014/03/28/nordic-countries-are-not-as-similar-or-as-exceptional-as-conventional-w
Signalé par Antoine Jacob, journaliste à Riga
Nordic countries are often treated as a separate, ‘exceptional’ group among European countries. Åsa Bengtsson writes that while this conception is extremely common, a closer look at voting behaviour and political engagement within Nordic countries reveals a different picture. There are in fact notable differences within the Nordic region which are at least as large as the variations between Nordic states and other countries in Western Europe.
We all know the story. The Nordic countries, those five small states in the Northern parts of Europe are somehow peculiar, maybe because of the strength of the welfare state, maybe because of the number of medals in the Winter Olympics. Rich, stable, equal and perhaps a bit complacent is the usual verdict. When it comes to the political arena, scholars have even presented the Nordic countries as ‘exceptional’ or ‘happy’ democracies.
