ABSTRACT
Norwegians call their country Noreg, which means “the way to the north.” In some respects, Norway is synonymous with the north. Other Scandinavian countries adopt the Nordic description, among them the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, plus three autonomous territories (the Faeroe Islands, Greenland, and the Aaland Islands). But when the Northern Lights illuminate the wintry Norwegian skies, it truly feels like one is on “the way to the North,” amid tales of Vikings, trolls, and (Ibsen’s) Nora. That deep and abiding identification with things northern and journeys northward marks Norwegian culture in a number of ways, among which are how Norwegians perceive their role in the global environment and how they prepare themselves for that role. It is
not something that Norway boasts about necessarily, though it has made them a quiet force in diplomatic foreign-policy disputes.
