An end to Nordic exceptionalism? Europeanisation and Nordic development policies

Abstract

The Nordic countries have traditionally been praised for their generous and advanced development policies. Recently, however, it has been claimed that the Nordic model has faded: that the Nordic donors have become more similar to other European donors. One possible reason for such trends is influences from EU policies, that is, Europeanisation. This article critically evaluates such claims by presenting arguments for and against Europeanisation effects. We argue that changes have indeed taken place. The Nordic exceptionalism has been eroded. At the same time, a convergence of European aid policies has occurred. The question is if this is the consequence of Europeanisation -or is it rather a result of Nordicisation (the Nordic countries influencing the EU), or perhaps like-mindisation (a broader set of progressive member states having impact upon EU policies)? We suggest that Europeanisation has been extremely weak while there is strong evidence of Nordicisation but also, and increasingly, of like-mindisation. Today, a core group of mainly northern member states, including the Nordics, are the main driving forces behind European aid convergence.

Norm advocacy networks: Nordic and Like-Minded Countries in EU gender and development policy

“…This indicates that many more Member States are now considered to share the values and norms formerly associated with only the Nordic countries, a development that may be interpreted as a sign of Nordification (cf. Elgström and Delputte, 2016). A distinction can also be made between more loose references to Like-Minded Countries as a phenomenon and the actual existence of an informal network of like-minded Member States; it is the latter that I will consider below.…”

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“…Они сделали ставку на многосторонние каналы финансирования, особенно агентства ООН, распределяя большую часть поддержки в виде грантов, а не кредитов. Скандинавские страны были одними из первых, кто стал выделять помощь исходя из интересов и приоритетов стран-реципиентов, развивая партнёрские связи и обеспечивая сопричастность местных и национальных правительств [Elgström and Delputte, 2015].…”

“…Скандинавская политика помощи практически не имеет под собой определённых политических или экономических национальных интересов [Elgström and Delputte, 2015]. Скандинавы не мотивированы соответствующими политическими или экономическими интересами в пост-колониальном мире не стремятся такие интересы сформировать.…”

“…Напротив, скандинавская помощь основана на идеях гуманизма, идеализма и альтруизма, что нашло своё выражение в доктрине "гуманитарного интернационализма" [Selbervik and Nygaard, 2006: 5]. Существуют мнения, что это один из путей распространения скандинавской социально-демократической модели и ценностей, лежащих в её основе [Elgström and Delputte, 2015]. Иными словами, скандинавы пытаются транслировать свою внутреннюю социальноэкономическую успешность на внешний мир в том числе через содействие развитию бедным странам.…”

Global Justice and Aid Effectiveness: Reforms of the European Union’s Development Policy

“…I am also grateful for comments by participants at a GLOBUS workshop in Oslo (2018) and the workshop 'Trade, development and global justice' at Wits University, Johannesburg (2017). This paper draws on an earlier publication in the Journal of European Integration (Saltnes, 2019) the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands) have taken a central role in establishing aid effectiveness reforms (Elgström & Delputte, 2016;Olsen, 2013;Selbervik & Nygaard, 2006). However, the like-minded countries have also resisted aid effectiveness reforms proposed by the Commission in the EU context.…”