Farewell to the Nordic aid model

In the early 1990s when the first issue of Development Today was published, the Nordic model was proudly hailed as a clear alternative on the global aid arena. In the course of the last 20 years, this Nordic brand has been diluted.

Sweden, Denmark and Finland, all members of the European Union, have increasingly mainstreamed their aid policies within multilateral frameworks like the EU, OECD and the World Bank, while Norway has opted for a go-it-alone strategy, in an effort to make itself visible on the international scene.