Introduction to special section: from Nordic exceptionalism to a third order priority – variations of “Nordicness” in foreign and security policy

This introduction presents the rationale for studying Nordicness in Nordic foreign and security policy with an overview of the renaissance of the Nordic dimension in research on Nordic foreign policy. The introduction also includes an analytical framework on Nordic security culture, developed from Jepperson, Wendt and Katzenstein 1996. Norms, Identity, and Culture in National Security. In P. J. Katzenstein (Ed.), The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World Politics (pp. 33–75). New York: Columbia University Press.. This framework is used throughout the special section.