How Nordic solidarity failed the COVID-19 test: uncoordinated pandemic responses and the decline of Nordic health cooperation

Abstract

The inability of Nordic governments to coordinate their COVID-19 pandemic responses on social distancing and travel restrictions has puzzled observers and raised concerns for the future of Nordic cooperation. However, little academic attention has been directed so far to the collective Nordic response to the pandemic. In the first comprehensive account of Nordic health coordination and cooperation during the pandemic, this article investigates a paradox: how did one of the oldest regional units in Europe, with the current ambition of becoming the “most sustainable and integrated region in the world in 2030”, become one of the most inconsistent and divided once the pandemic hit? This paper argues that the recent developments have roots in the overall decline of the Nordic regional model. Increasingly based on broad commitments and informal coordination, Nordic solidarity has shown its limits in a time of crisis – leaving the Nordic project on the brink of marginalisation between the domestic and European levels.