Nordic Modernities. From Historical Region to Five Exceptions

Abstract

Several recent books discuss issues of Nordic modernity. While Nordic history often tends to emphasize the similarities between the five countries, these recent books present the Nordic countries as less of a unitary region that nonetheless lends itself to broader international comparisons. Economic, cultural and political modernity come across as processes that have not been predetermined, but rather are the result of many competing visions and trajectories of the future. These processes have been different in the five Nordic countries. At the same time, the developments in different spheres of society were interwoven due to the practice of comparison and exchange between key agents in politics, culture and economy.