Sara Lahtinen (Stockholm): The Importance of Ambivalence in Cultural Identity Formation. From The Economist, the Nordic countries are reinventing their model of capitalism, says Adrian Wooldridge (and a response at Dissent). Don’t mention the Swedes: A Finnish documentary series has drawn some uncomfortable and controversial conclusions regarding Finland’s national identity. J. Laurence Hare reviews Knut Hamsun: The Dark Side of Literary Brilliance by Monika Zagar. How did Cool Denmark become so hot? Laurie McIntosh reviews Multiple Modernities: A Tale of Scandinavian Experiences by Gunnar Skirbekk. Prisons in Sweden, Norway and Finland have a smaller average inmate population, bigger cells and broader access to social services than jails in English-speaking countries. Night nurseries: Maddy Savage on Sweden's round-the-clock childcare. James Harbeck on the strange Scandinavian pronunciations of common English words.
