Historical Origins of the Scandinavian Countries' Foreign Policy

Abstract

The article highlights the historical development of Scandinavia, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and the Faroe Islands. The author substantiates the origin of the term “Scandinavia”, establishes that industrialization and political changes, in particular the processes of independence of Finland, Iceland and Norway, paved the way for the development of democratic institutions, formed a system of values that have become both the integral basis of modern European policy of the Scandinavian countries and the basis for the development of interstate relations with other countries of the world. It is found that the democratic transition in the Nordic countries was accompanied by the transformation of economic relations, which subsequently led to qualitative changes in economic processes and overcoming systemic financial and economic problems.