How did Norway become one of the world’s wealthiest, most egalitarian and best-functioning democracies? Was it simply luck and natural resources, or are there deeper explanations?
To understand Norway today, the story must be traced further back than the oil age. In his new book, Norway’s History. The World as a Mirror, Terje Tvedt follows the country’s development over 10,000 years and places it in a global historical context. The result is a new account of how geography, nature, international connections and historical choices have shaped the country known today.
With curiosity and a willingness to challenge established truths, Tvedt asks whether Norway’s success can be better understood by looking at the country from the outside – with the world as a mirror.
Terje Tvedt has been a professor of history, political science and geography at the universities of Oslo and Bergen. He has written numerous books, translated into many languages, and his television documentaries have been shown in around 150 countries. Tvedt has received, among other awards, the Research Council of Norway’s Dissemination Award, Gullruten and the Fritt Ord Award.
Aslak Sira Myhre is a former National Librarian, journalist, politician and cultural leader. Myhre is currently Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Lyse.
