This collection of 40 articles provides critical analysis of the society, history and culture of the Nordic region in an international context. The book includes research-based overviews of topics such as humanitarianism, S�mi literature, colonialism, childcare provision, crime fiction and populism - as well as more detailed articles on specific subjects or events, like the dancing ban in Finland during the Second World War, food delivery workers in twenty-first century Denmark or the historical development of the �resund bridge.
The articles were originally published on the research dissemination platform nordics.info between 2019 and 2025. The 46 authors are at different stages of their academic careers, based in a range of countries and come from across the social sciences and humanities.
The book is written for a non-academic audience without specialist knowledge of the Nordic countries, but researchers, students and experts may also find it useful. The book can be read cover to cover or perused intermittently.
Götz, Norbert: - Norbert Götz holds the chair of contemporary history at Södertörn University. His current research focuses on humanitarianism, moral economy, global civil society, and civil society-state relations. His interests also include populism and nationalism, political culture, peace and international relations, democracy and the welfare state, and conceptual history. The larger Baltic Sea region, including the Nordic countries and Central and Eastern Europe, are special target regions, although his research includes the British Isles, global history, and the UN.Götz is the Swedish representative in the steering group of the research programme "Reimagining Norden in an Evolving World (ReNEW): An Excellence Hub in Reserach, Educaton and Public Outreach" (funded by NordForsk 2018-2024). He is responsible for working with doctoral researchers and emerging scholars, and is the organiser of the Fifth Nordic Challenges Conference, 1-3 June 2022, in Stockholm.Götz leads the project "Civil Society without Boundaries: Nordic Humanitarianism Facing the Biafra Crisis" (funded by the Swedish Research Council 2022-2024). His academic engagements include the Swedish Graduate School of History and the Association for Political History.Norbert Götz has been awarded the Hans Rosenberg Memorial Prize of the Heinrich August and Dörte Winkler Foundation in the Friedrich Ebert Foundation for his dissertation, as well as the 15th Annual Scholarship Award of the Swedish Women's Educational Association International (SWEA)."
Hilson, Mary: - Mary Hilson is Professor at the Department of History and Classical Studies, Aarhus University, where her areas of research include modern social, political and cultural history in the Nordic countries and beyond. From 2018-2024 she was Aarhus University's representative on the board of Reimagining Norden in an Evolving World (ReNEW) funded by Nordforsk, of which nordics.info is a part.
Witcombe, Nicola: - Nicola Witcombe has an MA in English Literature and is a qualified lawyer with a Master's degree in law. She set up and led nordics.info at Aarhus University as the editor and project manager from 2018 to 2025. Her areas of interest include comparative legal studies between Denmark and the UK, and communications, particularly science communications and research dissemination.
