The Peaceful Revolts: 1968 in the Nordic Welfare States

Abstract

The student revolts of 1968 in the Nordic countries were peaceful in comparison with what happened in places like Berlin, Paris or Rome. Students in the Nordic countries also protested and revolted against the authoritarian traditions of higher education, but only rarely did they take to the streets like their German and French counterparts. As this chapter argues, the relative peacefulness of the Nordic 1968 must be understood within a wider political context. The growth within higher education went hand in hand with the development of the welfare state. Students' demands for reform converged with university policy development, especially in terms of democratization in higher education. Still, by drawing on examples from Copenhagen, Oslo, Reykjavik and Trondheim, the chapter shows that there were many tensions and paradoxes related to the various ways these peaceful revolts were played out in the Nordic countries. A long-term effect of the student movement of the 1960s was, ironically, that it helped pave the way for the 'freedom revolution' of the 1980s and 1990s.