Introduction

Abstract

and Sweden have had a close relationship through history-politically, culturally, socially, and economically. At various points in the past, the five countries have shared common rules and laws, and were even one united kingdom (The Kalmar Union) in the fifteenth and early sixteenth century, but since 1917 (1944 for Iceland), all the countries have been sovereign. The close relationship between the Nordic states continues up to this day, both on a structural level and with regard to a kind of common Nordic belonging. The Nordic Council was founded in 1952 in order to promote cooperation between the countries (Finland was added in 1955). In 1971, the Nordic Council of Ministers was founded with the aim of coordinating intergovernmental cooperation among the Nordic countries. Initiatives included establishing a common labour market and a common passport union, making free movement between the Nordic countries a natural part of Nordic life long before free movement was possible within the European Union. This cooperation and the ideology behind it is often referred to as The Nordic Model, a specific kind of welfare state offering free education, health care, social services, and so forth, which was developed from the late nineteenth century onwards (Alestalo et al., 2009). As a result of the Nordic region becoming a more homogenised economic and cultural entity, there has been extended cooperation between the Nordic media at an institutional level. One example is Nordvision, a collaboration initiated in 1958 between the broadcasters DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway), SR (Sweden), and YLE (Finland), with the addition of RUV (Iceland) in 1966. Nordvision is, similar to the European joint initiative Eurovision, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a pan-Nordic cooperation for the sharing of content between the member states, with the underlying aim of strengthening the Nordic