Introduction

Gender equality is an inevitable part of the Nordic imaginary – and partly for unmistakable reasons: The Nordic states enfranchised women ahead of most countries and regions in the world. In this book, however, the authors focus on three key actors national governments, business organizations and civil society without losing sight of the vast international literature on the Nordic model(s), on the one hand, and nation-branding, on the other. The authors of this book have been given room to situate themselves and their topics in the broader scope of nation-branding and related conceptualizations, as the authors believe these different terms speak to the imagining of the Nordic in relation to gender equality. The chapter explores how the revision of the rape law was debated and represented in the Swedish parliament and the media, with a particular focus on how the desired role as a norm entrepreneur was addressed.