Scandinavia

Background

All three Scandinavian countries are constitutional monarchies with relatively small populations. They have a common history, as exemplified by the fact that Norway has in the past been ruled by both Denmark and Sweden. Some geographical areas of present day Sweden have been part of Denmark and other geographical areas, part of Norway.

Sweden has approximately 9 million people, Denmark 5.2 million, and Norway 4.6 million. Although all are monarchies, these are largely symbolic and ceremonial. According to Freedom House's annual rankings, political rights and civil liberties are protected in all Scandinavian countries, and they all have the status as free countries. In terms of the freedom of the press, in 2007 Freedom House ranked Sweden, Norway, and Denmark as among the six freest countries in the world. Sweden was the first country in the world to constitutionally establish the principles of publicity and press freedom, which happened in 1766. Norway followed suit in 1814 and Denmark in 1848.

All three countries have proportional electoral systems and multiparty systems. In 2007, the number of parties represented in each of the three parliaments was seven, and all three countries were governed by coalition governments. Generally speaking, minority or coalition governments are the rule in the Scandinavian countries. Their history and political culture is characterized by compromise and power sharing among political parties and major collective interests, such as unions and business organizations. Since World War II, Social Democratic parties have been dominant in each of the Scandinavian countries, especially in Sweden. Voter turnout ranges upwards of 80 percent or more. According to the nongovernmental organization, Transparency International, the level of corruption in the Scandinavian countries is amongst the lowest in the world. All three Scandinavian countries are affluent welfare states. Denmark and Sweden are members of the European Union (since 1973 and 1995, respectively) whereas Norway is not a member. Norway and Denmark have been members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since its founding (1949), whereas Sweden is not a member.

The Scandinavian countries have been classified as almost indistinguishable cases of the democratic corporatist model characterized by the following: high newspaper circulation; early development of a mass-circulated press; a strong party press and strong political parallelism—that is, the extent to which the media reflect political or social divisions in society; sound journalistic profession-alization and institutionalized media self-regulation; extensive state intervention in society, including the media sphere (but with protection for press freedom); and powerful public service broadcasting. Extensive welfare state policies and state intervention in the media sphere has coexisted with strong legal protection for the freedom of the press.

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