The Northern European countries are stable democracies, they are regarded as classic consensus democracies and the Scandinavian welfare model is much admired. What is the basis for these judgements? How do the political systems of the three monarchies of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the two republics of Finland and Iceland, the autonomous territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Aland Islands and the institutions of the Sápmi region work? This study focuses on parliamentarism, elections, parties, governments, administrations, legal systems and the countries' cultural and historical roots. It is aimed at students of the social sciences as well as teachers and all those interested in Northern European politics and society.The editorsBernd Henningsen is em. Professor for Culture and Politics of Northern Europe and Honorary Professor at the Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany.Sven Jochem is Professor of Political Science at the University of Konstanz, Germany.With contributions bySofie Blombäck | Peter Munk Christiansen | Torvald Falch | Jan Erik Grindheim | Bernd Henningsen | Sven Jochem | Peter Nedergaard | Eva H. Önnundóttir | Evangelia Petridou | Tapio Raunio | Per Selle | Johan Strang
