The nation once dubbed "the west's reigning educational superpower" (the Atlantic) has slipped in the latest Pisa rankings. Photograph: EPA, What would Birgitte do? After all, for several centuries, these two nations wanted nothing more than to eradicate the other, and this level of animosity does not dissolve away completely. Neighboring countries sometimes seek the same land and water use. "My suspicion is that Turkey, eventually, especially if it can extract a few concessions here and there from the Western powers and its NATO allies, will not ultimately seek to block Finland and Sweden from joining the organization," the Arab Gulf States Institute's Ibish said. But for as long as the internet has . Could the question, Why do Norwegians Hate Swedes and Danes? come from stereotypes that non-Scandinavians have about people in the region? The inconsistency of Bolshevik Bernie's hatred of billionaires in the US but love of the supposed socialist billionaire paradises of Sweden and Norway was pointed out by CNN's Fareed Zakaria. , This blog uses affiliate links and cookies, Growing Your Travel Blog Through Branding . Yet each country wants to beat the others, for example, in the medal count at the Winter Olympics. The Nordic countries share a history that goes back hundreds of years. link to 5 Great Places To Stay in Iceland. The myriad successes of the Nordic countries are no miracle, they were born of a combination of Lutheran modesty, peasant parsimony, geographical determinism and ruthless pragmatism ("The Russians are attacking? to learn more about Scandinavian culture. Some people believe Norwegians are just more competitive than their neighbors. I remember Sweden and Norway hard defending us danes when Trump said he wanted to buy Greenland. The Finns are epic Friday-night bingers and alcohol is now the leading cause of death for Finnish men. "But at least the trains run on time!" The Poles dislike the. Join the Nazis! No, they are not, and have to make that clear much harder than that they are not Russian. The same is true of Danish and Swedish people. Western governments hailed the Kurdish fighters as allies, and several EU countries put various embargoes on Turkey due to their targeting of Kurdish militias in Syria, highlighting the intractable differences between how each side perceived the fighters. So the picture in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden does remain relatively rosy - just not as perfect as some may have painted. It's all over a tiny group of islands, believe it or not. According to metrics that measure a populations collective sense of happiness, they have also developed into thriving countries. In other places, people prefer not to touch at all. When it comes to Finland, Turkey's opposition to it joining NATO appears to be more by association the country has a far smaller Kurdish population than Sweden, but its foreign policy tends to be similar. Both considered that joining the alliance would represent an unnecessary provocation of Moscow, and so have long pursued policies of neutrality, and then non-alignment, to avoid antagonising a major regional power. Some in the region believe Norwegians raise their children differently than others and instill in them a national pride that may not necessarily have implications for neighboring people groups, but it sometimes results in such perceptions. Christian started Scandinavia Facts to explore his family heritage, raise awareness of one of his academic interests as a professor, and civilly promote the region. Members of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continue operations against the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey regards as a terror group, within Turkey's Operation Peace Spring in Ras Al Ayn, Syria on October 17, 2019. Is social media causing childhood depression? Swedens opposition to Nato membership has been more ideological. Russia has threatened its close Arctic neighbours Sweden and Finland with 'military consequences' if they join NATO. When Finland and Sweden announced their interest in joining NATO, the two Nordic states were expected to be swiftly accepted as members of the defense alliance. According to the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment rankings (Pisa), Denmark's schools lag behind even the UK's. 17 May 2022. This follows some unfortunate incidents involving Finnish students the burning of Porvoo cathedral by an 18-year-old in 2006; the Jokela shootings (another disgruntled 18-year-old) in 2007, and the shooting of 10 more students by a peer in 2008 which led some to speculate whether Finnish schools were quite as wonderful as their reputation would have us believe. In 2021, Sweden's government announced an increase in funding for Kurdish groups in Syria to $376 million by 2023, saying it remained an "active partner" to Syria's Kurds and that its funds were aimed at "strengthening resilience, human security and freedom from violence" and improving "human rights, gender equality and democratic development.". National pride certainly exists in Scandinavian countries like it does elsewhere in the world. When Erdogan talks of "terrorists" in this context, he means the Kurdish Workers' Party, or the PKK a Kurdish Marxist separatist movement that has been fighting Turkish forces on-and-off since the 1980s. Sweden denies this, saying it supports other Kurds who are not in the PKK but the details are more complicated. It would be known as the Finnish War (which is where it was mainly fought) and would include Great Britain on Sweden's side and Denmark and France on Russia's. As depicted in this excellent long-running web comic, the typical Swede is seen as rich, arrogant, and tech-savvy. The Danes of course also have highest taxes in the world (though only the sixth-highest wages hence the debt, I guess). Ankara says that the SDC is dominated by PKK terrorists. Sweden denies this. 3. A place to post memes about the Nordic countries and their history. Why it matters: A formal objection by Turkey would derail Finland and Sweden's expected NATO applications, which must be approved by all 30 NATO allies. If you can cope with this, and the cost, and the cold (both metaphorical and inter-personal), then by all means join me in my adopted hyggelige home. The Norwegians were allowed to maintain their parliament, and their own army and judiciary. It may be due to regional and cultural attitude tendencies that dont necessarily have negative roots. But would I want to live in Finland? The same applies in Norway, with Oslo often measuring up as more expensive than places like Bergen. Got a confidential news tip? Finland and Sweden took a historic decision to end their nonaligned positions and join the alliance in the face of Russia's aggression, but new countries joining NATO requires unanimous approval . Non-Scandinavians may not be the root cause of any, or all of, such stereotypes, but they may contribute to them by believing them and expressing them to others. And Finns? The idea is that because Sweden's horrific death rates followed its refusal to lock down its society as strictly as other countries, the latter must have been the cause of the former. The United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015 to work on social, economic and environmental issues. They are very pleased to be told they did not." to learn more. Nordic countries like Finland and Norway may regularly come out on top of world happiness indexes for wellbeing year-on-year - but new research shows the happiness is far from universal. Finland and Sweden share a long history, similar legal systems, and an economic and social model.Finland was part of Sweden for almost 700 years from around 1150 until the Finnish War of 1809 after which Finland became an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland.Since Finland gained its full independence from Russia in 1917, Finland and Sweden have been close . Sweden, however, remained the regional outlier for more than a century. This perception is subjective, however, and difficult to measure through polling, reporting, or data analyses. Somehow, though, the government still managed to find 2m to fund a two-year tax-scandal investigation largely concerned, as far as I can make out, with the sexual orientation of the prime minister's husband, Stephen Kinnock. This level only worsened in the age bracket of 80 or above - a group more affected by issues like illness. Since the Treaty of Copenhagen, there havent been significant problems between the three Scandinavian countries that have reached the extremes of military conflict. For example, a Norwegian who is hyper competitive about, A Norwegian who is passionate about social issues, may have a national pride when it comes to comparisons of tolerance or the strength and availability of. Turkey's president says he may oppose. Finland already meets Natos defence spending target of 2% of GDP, while Sweden is on course to do so. This fact surprises many people from all around the world and makes them wonder "why". Swedish benefits are the best in the world Working in Sweden gives you a boat load of holidays. Ask the Danes, and they will tell you that the Norwegians are the most insular and xenophobic of all the Scandinavians, and it is true that since they came into a bit of money in the 1970s the Norwegians have become increasingly Scrooge-like, hoarding their gold, fearful of outsiders. 2023 BBC. If Scandinavia was the Dursley family, Denmark would be Dudley. I hear you say. Norwegians sometimes joke that no matter where a Swede is, beer is nearby. The relationship between Denmark and Sweden and their respective constituents is complex, difficult to define, and at times, marked by seemingly childish and petty behavior. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. [1] But it has so many exciting places that deciding which area to visit can be challenging. In the US, they'd have an intervention.". People in other countries prefer to shake hands. Sweden has about 10% higher purchasing power than Norway, even though you can earn more with a career in Norway. Norway saw a 40% increase over the five-year-period of young people seeking help for mental health difficulties. One common stereotype about people from Sweden and Denmark is that they drink a lot of alcohol. "The next day, people laugh about it. In 2020, the Sweden Democrats vetoed the rule of law conditionality for accessing EU funds and thereby cosied up to Poland and Hungary. Their state-run alcohol monopoly stores, the dreaded Systembolaget, were described by Susan Sontag as "part funeral parlour, part back-room abortionist". Everyone understands that Finland is not Russian, despite being part of the Russian Empire for 108 years. Kurds celebrate to show their support for the independence referendum in Duhok, Iraq, September 26, 2017. Sweden says the PKK and PYD are different but Turkey says they are one and the same. The reasons behind Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO are complicated, emotional and steeped in decades ofoftenviolent history. Mostly Sunni Muslim, they have their own unique language and customs. [1] But it has so many exciting places that deciding which area to visit can be challenging. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. - Quora Answer (1 of 22): It is hardly bitter on the Swedish side and I would not use that exact word on the Finnish side either. The Danish national rail company has skirted bankruptcy in recent years, and the trains most assuredly do not run on time. He also wants Sweden and Finland to publicly disavow the PKK and its affiliates, and to lift their weapons ban on Turkey. The Nordic countries share a history that goes back hundreds of years. They're not big on chat. As it turns out, this one comprises both truth and fiction. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are each part of the region of Northern Europe known as Scandinavia. What's he waiting for? or the past few years the world has been in thrall to all things Nordic (for which purpose we must of course add Iceland and Finland to the Viking nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden). The people of Iceland are fascinating. A Norwegian who is passionate about winter sports, may have a national pride when it comes to comparisons about speed skating or cross-country skiing. For instance, non-Scandinavians observe many similarities between Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes, especially when it comes to appearance, politics, and lifestyle. Norwegians are made fun of for being filthy rich, lazy, and too attached to their skis, Swedes are said to be painfully politically correct and addicted to tanning, while Danes are teased for being loud and impossible to understand. Sweden and Finland's historic bids to become NATO members have hit a roadblock after top Turkish officials took a tough stance against a Nordic expansion of the transatlantic . So why do Norwegians hate Swedes and Danes? No but seriously what did we do? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. to learn more. The view was a bit samey. A spokesman for the Sweden Democrats (currently at an all-time high of close to 10% in the polls) insisted to me that immigrants were "more prone to violence". Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland together enjoy a very high standard of living. Another way to look at it is sibling rivalry and family feuds. It has reintroduced conscription and boosted defence spending since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, but many on the Swedish left remain suspicious of the US-led Natos agenda and argue that Nato membership will only increase regional tensions. There is more than a whiff of the police state about the fact that Danish policeman refuse to display ID numbers and can refuse to give their names. It found general health and mental health were both closely associated with happiness ratings - with unemployment, income and sociability also playing a role. For the past few years the world has been in thrall to all things Nordic (for which purpose we must of course add Iceland and Finland to the Viking nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden). Photo by Eline Van Breda. "We are seeing that this epidemic of mental illness and loneliness is reaching the shores of the Nordic countries.". Since 1984, between 30,000 and 40,000 people are estimated to have died in fighting between the PKK and Turkish government, according to Crisis Group. Finland has also banned the PKK as a terrorist organization, but joined Sweden and other EU countries in halting weapons sales to Turkey in 2019 over Ankara's military action against Kurdish groups in Syria. In Denmark, Sweden and Norway, political parties introduced voluntary gender quotas in the 1970s, resulting in high numbers of female political representatives . 2023 CNBC LLC. In Denmark, 18.3% of people aged 16 to 24 said they suffered from poor mental health - with the number rising to 23.8% for women in that age bracket. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, as well as by the U.S., Canada, Australia and the European Union. Speaking of Danes and Swedes, there is also the commonly held notion that these two nationalities hate each other. Thank you for visiting Scandinavia Facts. There were times when each sought to obliterate the other and forever erase them from the face of the earth. Their negative perception isnt necessarily rooted in racial stereotypes. On the other hand they have also to accept Turkish requests of extradition of 30 terrorists, [which are] very specific cases.". Centuries ago, there most certainly was hatred between the nations of Denmark and Sweden, as evidenced by the dozens of wars fought between them. Between 1814, when Norway gained independence, and 1821, Norway's state flag was simply the Danish flag with the symbolic Norwegian lion in the top left corner. Btw, there was a similar thread in r/Nordiccountries recently: r/Nordiccountries/comments/jqwqxt/why_do_nordic_countries_citizens_seem_to_dislike/. May 16, 2022 / 9:40 AM / CBS News. In fact, the only way they can communicate with each other is through the neutral language of English, and quite often, it is through this non-native tongue that their wars of words are waged. [1]. Nonaligned up until now, Finland and Sweden last weekend announced plans to abandon that position and join NATO in the wake of Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine. Despite being part of the earth the Treaty of Copenhagen, there is also the held... 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