ABSTRACT
Nordic countries have long been considered ‘moral’ powers, crafting highly normative domestic and foreign policies whose aspirational quality led to their characterisation as ‘norm entrepreneurs’. This has become a very recognisable nation brand, exemplified, in the field of disaster-related mobility, by legislation enabling the granting of protection to non-citizens affected by environmental catastrophes, notably in Finland and Sweden. Following the repeal of these provisions, this chapter uses them as case studies to take a broader look at recent Nordic foreign policy shifts, and to examine why there has been such a departure from well-oiled nation brands. Drawing on repertoire theory as applied to foreign policy, this study finds that such shifts stem from both contextual and identity-related causes, in the form of right-wing populist challengers and a Scandinavian realist approach to law. In a rapidly changing international context, the chapter concludes that the realist streak has prevailed over the necessity for these countries of sticking to their humanitarian stance to stand out on the world stage. In order to meet current challenges, Nordic norm entrepreneurship now seems to be moving away from liberal norms, and towards pragmatic ones, in alignment with the stance of its national challengers.
