ABSTRACT
All the Nordic nation-states have been regarded as successful societies, due to their abilities to provide welfare, security, and well-being for their citizens. However, the current narratives of the Nordic models are not adequately explaining how this has happened, or what lessons and inspirations may be drawn from historical experiences. The chapter provides a review of more recent literature on the Nordic model, distinguishing between a political economy and cultural explanation, introducing an alternative associative governance perspective. The chapter reviews existing research related to the organizational dimension in the formation of Nordic societies. Identifying a mode of governance related to associative governance, the chapter departs from the literature on the relationship between civil society and the state, as well as people’s movement and political parties, and the triangular relationship between unions, employer’s associations, and states. The development of people’s movements, voluntary organizations, and later corporatist compromises may be understood as necessary preconditions for the Nordic models. Rather than claiming that practices and ideas related to associative governance are found only in the Nordic countries, it is argued that we may use the Nordic experience to identify some of the preconditions for such a mode of governance.
