The Nordic countries have a long history of being celebrated as models of democracy and they continue to be so today. This project builds on the observation that the nature and characteristics of the “democracy” championed by the Nordics has changed. No longer distinctively connected to national and popular sovereignty, public participation, social equality, or labour market arrangements, Nordic democracy is increasingly associated, rather, with rule of law, human rights and economic liberty. No longer a social democratic alternative, the Nordics are today excelling as exemplars of the universal principles of liberal democracy at the end of history.
What accounts for this redefinition of Nordic democracy? How did it transpire, who were the main actors and their networks? How does it relate global changes of economy, politics, and governance in general, and to neoliberalisation, understood as a process of state-driven market expansion, in particular?
We analyse the neoliberalisation of Nordic democracy in three work packages (1) the relation between law and politics; (2) corporatist arrangements and associational life; and (3) the production of knowledge and ideology.
The project members are Johan Strang (PI), Stefan Nygård, Maiju Wuokko, Ilkka Kärrylä, Sophy Bergenheim and Maika Absetz.