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. Its true that Scandinavia holds the highest percentage of people with blonde hair and blue eyes in the world. Finlands concerns have been largely practical: it shares an 810-mile (1,300km) border with Russia, declared independence in 1917 after more than a century of rule by Moscow, and its army twice fought off Soviet forces during the second world war before ceding about 10% of its territory. Kurds celebrate to show their support for the independence referendum in Duhok, Iraq, September 26, 2017. "The Sweet Danish Life: Copenhagen: Cool, Creative, Carefree," simpered National Geographic; Protesters clash with police at an asylum centre near Copenhagen in 2008. Denmark, Sweden and Norway have eased or eliminated all of their COVID-19 related restrictions, but posts falsely claiming this means their governments stopped believing in the pandemic or . The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, as well as by the U.S., Canada, Australia and the European Union. Also see Why Do Doors Open Outwards in Sweden? Mostly Sunni Muslim, they have their own unique language and customs. Eighteen Republican lawmakers voted against the US allowing Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Instead, Scandinavia was comprised of competing chieftains and warlords, some more prominent than others, who vied for land, power, and wealth. As far back as anyone can remember relations between them have been what can only be described as "pretty bloody awful". 3. Schools rein in higher achievers for the sake of the less gifted; "elite" is a dirty word; displays of success, ambition or wealth are frowned upon. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. But do some people living today still have resentment and hold negative views about a neighboring people group due to conflicts that happened centuries ago? One economy may be stronger than the other. 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. Sweden denies this. What is considered rude in one country may not be considered rude in another one. One common stereotype about people from Sweden and Denmark is that they drink a lot of alcohol. It has been hundreds of years since the Danes and Swedes last took up arms against each other, and just about the only modern-day hostilities between them involve words, attitudes, and even volleys of tweets during an epic social media dust-up. Still, NATO may face gridlock for some time if Erdogan is not satisfied with Sweden and Finland's responses to his demands. What your brother does can annoy you beyond belief, and you bet he'll do it again and again, just because it annoys you. The most direct route via Sweden and Finland would still take at least 27 hours. This perception is subjective, however, and difficult to measure through polling, reporting, or data analyses. Thank you for posting on NordicHistoryMemes. References:[1] Source[2] Source[3] Source[4] Source[5] Source[6] Source[7] Source[8] Source[9] Source. This fact surprises many people from all around the world and makes them wonder "why". From the 10th to 13th century A.D., Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were united though they were three separate kingdoms. Icelands epic landscapes draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Why do the Danes score so highly on international happiness surveys? If you do decide to move there, don't expect scintillating conversation. Finland, Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand all have high GDP per capita, low inequality rates, literacy rates close to 100 %, and prioritise human right issues (e.g. So what are other stereotypes people have about Scandinavians? Among the dissenters in the Monday vote were some of the party's furthest-right members, including Reps . 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". Norwegians feel a deep connection with the landscape and take any opportunity to experience it, like this couple cross-country skiing. As a spokesperson I interviewed at the Danish centre-right thinktank Cepos put it, they effectively work until Thursday lunchtime for the state's coffers, and the other day and half for themselves. In the old nationalistic writings Sweden has always been portrayed as cartoonishly evil entity. Sweden's top diplomat Ann Linde has stressed that Stockholm considers the PKK a terrorist organization but there remained "misunderstandings" over using the term for other Kurdish groups, such as the YPG. The NATO average was estimated at 1.6% last year. Though 2013 saw a record number of asylum applications to Norway, it granted asylum to fewer than half of them (around 5,000 people), a third of the number that less wealthy Sweden admits (Sweden accepted over 9,000 from Syria alone). Russia has threatened its close Arctic neighbours Sweden and Finland with 'military consequences' if they join NATO. A positive decision would then be presented to parliament for approval early next week. . Life here is pretty comfortable, more so for indigenous families than for immigrants or ambitious go-getters (Google "Jantelov" for more on this), but as with all the Nordic nations, it remains largely free of armed conflict, extreme poverty, natural disasters and Jeremy Kyle. "The next day, people laugh about it. 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. The Nordic countries share a history that goes back hundreds of years. Actually, I have lived in Denmark on and off for about a decade, because my wife's work is here (and she's Danish). Some do; some dont. It has recently been given a high profile in the United States, following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump suggested America . There remains a disturbing Islamophobic sub-subculture in Norway. In 1808 Tzar Alexander I of Russia was forced by Napoleon to attack Sweden, ruled by Gustav IV Adolf, as part of Napoleon's plan to take over Europe. So let's remove those rose-tinted ski goggles and take a closer look at the objects of our infatuation . 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. That includes many non-PKK Kurdish entities and organizations in and from Turkey itself, but also the Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria and a number of Iraqi Kurdish groups as well.". Do People Still Practice the Norse Religion Today? Underlying the tension between Turkey and Sweden is how each country defines "terrorist," says Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Simple, the Danes also have the highest level of private debt in the world (four times as much as the Italians, to put it into context; enough to warrant a warning from the IMF), while more than half of them admit to using the black market to obtain goods and services. No but seriously what did we do? Yes, they want to beat each other and claim victory at whatever they are doing, however, there is no ill will toward others or a collective desire for something harmful to happen to anyone. The reasons behind Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO are complicated, emotional and steeped in decades ofoftenviolent history. The view was a bit samey. 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. Well, they do have high levels of trust and social cohesion, and do very nicely from industrial pork products, but according to the OECD they also work fewer hours per year than most of the rest of the world. "Turkey basically classifies all Kurdish groups it strongly dislikes as PKK front organizations. If Scandinavia was the Weasley family, Sweden would be Percy. Photograph: EPA, What would Birgitte do? Ideas from the "happiest countries" such as the Danish hygge have grown in popularity, The report said young women reported the highest levels of unhappiness in some areas, Nordic countries regularly appear in the top five happiest places, according to the survey, with Finland coming top this year, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. It is time to redress the imbalance, shed a little light Beyond the Wall. At the same time, 1815, Norway's war flag was merged with that of Sweden; a Swedish three pronged flag with a Danish flag in the upper left corner. Finland's is a reactive, listening culture, burdened by taboos too many to mention (civil war, second world war and cold war-related, mostly). 1) The Nordic system kills innovation, and the United States' adopting it would have dire consequences for the world economy. They are very pleased to be told they did not." VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Its postwar foreign policy has focused on multilateral dialogue and nuclear disarmament and it has long seen itself as a mediator on the international stage, running down its military after the end of the cold war. Its likely. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Effectively a one-party state albeit supported by a couple of shadowy industrialist families for much of the 20th century, "neutral" Sweden (one of the world largest arms exporters) continues to thrive economically thanks to its distinctive brand of totalitarian modernism, which curbs freedoms, suppresses dissent in the name of consensus, and seems hell-bent on severing the bonds between wife and husband, children and parents, and elderly on their children. Everyone is just having fun, friendly bullying. Turkey says Sweden has supported members of the Kurdish Workers' Party, or the PKK. Like the Swedes, they embraced privatisation with great enthusiasm (even the ambulance service is privatised); and can seem spectacularly unsophisticated in their race relations (cartoon depictions of black people with big lips and bones through their noses are not uncommon in the national press). Why did Sweden and Norway Break Up? While such competitive Scandinavians may cross a line at a given time, like a Dane who shouts negative comments to a Swede during a hockey game, collectively the competitive spirits of Scandinavians dont result in harmful outcomes. 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.". EDIT: Don't you just love it when your first post on a subreddit gets on trending? These countries have a shared history, and like many other places in the world, they have experienced periods of unity and disunity. We exists to inform people about the people, culture, and history of Northern Europe. For example, they are not all blonde or blue-eyed, nor is every Norwegian, Dane, or Swede directly descended from Vikings. Since the Treaty of Copenhagen, there havent been significant problems between the three Scandinavian countries that have reached the extremes of military conflict. Yet each country wants to beat the others, for example, in the medal count at the Winter Olympics. Join the Allies!"). The Swedes, on the other hand, if asked to describe the good people of Denmark, might depict the Danes as happy-go-lucky people who, for better or worse, wear their emotions on their sleeves. But Sweden? The same applies in Norway, with Oslo often measuring up as more expensive than places like Bergen. Countries all around the world have different traditions and attitudes when it comes to receiving visitors and welcoming people who have relocated to their homeland. Thank you for visiting Scandinavia Facts. And Norway isn't the only Scandinavian neighbor barring Swedes, with some exceptions, from visiting this summer. Perhaps the current state of relations between the people of Denmark and their counterparts in Sweden is best epitomized by hostilities that erupted on social media between official government Twitter accounts managed by the Danish Foreign Ministry on one side and the Swedish Communications Unit on the other. She worked for the tourist board. Until someone outside the family tries to beat him up. Only 320,000 it would appear rather greedy and irresponsible people cling to this breathtaking, yet borderline uninhabitable rock in the North Atlantic. Ask the Finns and they will tell you that Swedish ultra-feminism has emasculated their men, but they will struggle to drown their sorrows. Most people are really in denial.". Plus, if you are planning on having children here, parents here get 480 days of paid parental leave so share between them! So you know, only we can criticize each other, and if other countries try it, they need to shut up. Well there are legimate reasons to not like Sweden nowadays. And while previous governments have controlled the spending of oil revenues, the new bunch are threatening a splurge which many warn could lead to full-blown Dutch disease. Photo by Eline Van Breda. All this is even coming from a Dane/Danskjvlar. Some Norwegians, like some Danes and Swedes, have a certain perspective about visitors and non-natives who have relocated to Norway. Some Swedes are deeply offended at the joke; some laugh and agree. Finlands president, prime minister and senior cabinet ministers will meet on Sunday to make a formal decision on submitting an application. Last Wednesday in Stockholm, the prime ministers of Sweden and Finland, countries where neutrality and military non-alliance are deeply woven into their cultures, shocked the world by issuing a. Researchers found mental health to be one of the most significant barriers to subjective well-being. For Hakki Akil, a former Turkish ambassador, the Turkish perspective is "very simple. And Finns? But to say that Danes and Swedes hate each other today would be a gross overstatement despite the occasional war of words and disparaging remarks. With its tarnished crown jewel, Nokia, devoured by Microsoft, Finland's hitherto robust economy is more dependent than ever on selling paper mostly I was told, to Russian porn barons. 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. A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry Friday voiced concern about what it described as efforts by the United States and some of its allies to "drag" Finland and Sweden into NATO and. LOL yes, we're the ones trying to "export out policies." The Treaty of Copenhagen, signed in 1660, signaled Swedens re-entry into a union with Norway and Denmark. Nato membership would mean that for the first time Finland and Sweden would have security guarantees from nuclear states. Turkish Armed Forces | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images. "We are seeing that this epidemic of mental illness and loneliness is reaching the shores of the Nordic countries.". The United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015 to work on social, economic and environmental issues. 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