In days gone by, the Social democrats were seen as the natural rulers of Sweden. But in the past few years the center-right coalition has managed to hold on to power by drawing votes from the middle-class. Does it mean the Swedes are rejecting the traditional, strong Nordic welfare state? Or is it rather a sign of a more European-wide malaise about social-democracy?
Alyson Bailes is Visiting Professor at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, teaching on general security topics and on Nordic and European security, and also carries out personal projects in the field of security analysis. From July 2002-August 2007 she was Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the first woman ever to hold that post.
Currently, David Cameron is the new face on the diplomatic stage in Europe – at the World Economic Forum in Davos, at the European Council Summits in Brussels, at the Security Conference in Munich. If the coalition government plays an active role on the European stage, who are its partners? The analysis of a summit that took place in London in late January, called “UK-Nordic-Baltic”, reveals that British foreign policy has developed a new strategic priority: Northern Europe.
A new perspective has emerged in the current negociations for Turkey's accession to the EU. Egemen Bagis, the Chief EU Negociator, now refers to the "Norwegian model": in case of a "yes" from the EU, a national referendum would take place in Turkey and have the last word upon the accession... Is this model relevant? Einar Wigen, a Norwegian researcher, provides us with an in-depth analysis of the matter