Nordic nostalgia: Northern Europe after the Cold War

Nordic identity is in crisis. With the European revolution of 1989–91, the meaning of ‘Norden’ has become unclear. In security terms, Nordic identity was defined by having lower military tension than Central Europe. In socio-economic terms, Nordic identity was dependent on the competition between capitalism and communism, offering a third way. At a deeper level, Norden represented a model of the enlightened, anti-militaristic society that was superior to the old Europe. These identities have disintegrated. The confrontation in Central Europe has disappeared; the competition between capitalism and communism is over. Now the key dynamics in European events are the two processes of 1989 and of 1992; the key concepts are political freedom rights, the free market and integration. Suddenly the sources of the future are to be found not in Norden, but on the Continent. The less-European identity of ‘Norden’ is no longer a promise, but a threat—the threat of being periphery. This article looks at the prospects for the emergence of a new identity in Northern Europe—a Baltic regional identity.