ABSTRACT
This chapter explores notions of Iceland’s marginality and exceptional characteristics in the context of wider Nordic discourses in a European context, as well as looking at Iceland’s shifting status within European narratives, from geopolitical marginality to marginality as a brand. In 2010, the Icelandic government embarked on a massive tourism campaign to restore the country’s reputation after a harsh economic crash in 2008. An important emphasis in this campaign was Iceland’s presumed marginal position within Europe, as in-between, exotic and strange, yet simultaneously as luxurious and safe.
