Nordic Role in Facing the Climate and Finance Crises

The UN is faced with declining legitimacy and thus declining power. Initiatives as well as power at the supra-national level are increasingly transferred from the UN to informal networks such as G8 and G20. This trend is obvious in the current multi-level and multi-actor climate negotiations. An interesting scenario to investigate is what would be the summary result of the Nordic countries becoming part of G20. Together, the Nordic countries correspond to the 10th largest economy based on GDP. Could thei r progressive agendas help promoting sustainability at the global level? This research is inspired by findings that Sweden has been, relative its size, more influential in EU than other countries. Would this also hold for other political organizations, su ch as the G20? If so the Nordic countries could increase their world influence by joining forces and participate in G20. Here are some of the immediate questions: -Are the Nordic countries more advanced in promoting sustainability in various fields than o ther countries or group of countries? If yes, to what extent and in what fields? -What have been the political, institutional and cultural sources of their success? -Are the Nordic countries similar in their approaches to sustainability? Would it be possi ble to develop a pan-Nordic approach to promoting global sustainability? -How would the G20 agenda look like with a Nordic participation? Would the Nordic countries be more influential in such a situation or would their voices be even less heard?