Nordic cooperation played an important role for Sweden’s economic and social success in the years after WWII. In the 1970s, however, Sweden started to turn away from its Nordic neighbors and in the following decades, the country embarked on a Sonderweg within key policy areas such as education, immigration, law enforcement, and, most recently, COVID-19 mitigation strategy. This essay compares Sweden with the surrounding Nordic countries and seeks to explain her divergent policy choices in terms of two factors: the erosion of the all-inclusive organizational structure that characterized Sweden during the heyday of “Model Suedois,” and the emergence of a fragmented complex of narrow interest groups without the previous ethics of responsibility.

A recurring theme in the analysis is Sweden´s reluctance to engage in constructivestudies of her Nordic neighbors. According to the World Happiness Index, the Nordic area ranks as the “happiest region in the world,” with Finland in a leading position. If Sweden can equip herself with a positive curiosity and willingness to learn, there may still be an opportunity to close the gap to her most successful Nordic neighbors.