State Civil Servants and Voluntary Nordic Cooperation: The Nordic Federation of Public Administration 1919–52

The Nordic Federation of Public Administration (NAF, 1919) is one of the various Nordic civil society lobby organizations founded in these years preparing the way for the official Nordic parliamentarian and government cooperation as it was established in 1952 with the Nordic Council. NAF is a peculiar case with respect to civil society, since it show-cases state civil servants of the highest ranks organized in an international society based on voluntary participation. The chapter looks at how information was exchanged, strong personal friendship bonds established, and how benchmarking was used as means for developing respective national administrative policies. The chapter delves into the practical side of transmitting information, but also contains an analysis of how support was both obtained and provided within NAF. The inter-play between civil society actors and state and municipal authorities is a well-known feature in Nordic societies sometimes referred to as the permeability of Nordic state structures. This proximity and mutual trust between civil society and state is often narrated as a harmonious virtuous circle. In this light NAF can also be examined as a forum for the articulation of shared ‘Nordic’ values.