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Scandinavia.  Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. For full article text, please visit:  http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/icelands-political-identity-scandinavian-or-british-4745/ Iceland’s Political Identity: Scandinavian or British? Saadna Sheriffdeen - Oct. 29th, 2012 Geopoliticalmonitor.com For several cultural and historical reasons, Iceland is often classified as a Nordic or Scandinavian country. The country was subjugated by the Danish and Norwegian monarchies between the 13th and 20th centuries, which is why substantial pockets of Iceland’s population today have ancestries traceable to parts of Scandinavia. The Icelandic language too is derived from the same North Germanic linguistic roots that Swedish, Danish and Norwegian stem from. Politically-speaking, Iceland has certain traits in common with Scandinavia, such as gender equality. But Iceland also has a lot in common with Britain: in both islands, the free market economy reigns, and a strong emphasis is placed on freedom, self-reliance and individualism.  Today, not only do 76% of Icelandic women participate in the labour market, which is the highest of any OECD country, but men in Iceland are also able to take up to nine months of paternal leave. The country is also steadily moving towards full wage equality between both sexes; in 2007 it stood at 90%. There is a very high female participation rate in Icelandic politics: in 2003, female MPs constituted 30% of the Althing. Iceland has a unique history of female political participation: during the late 19th century and early 20th century, women’s organizations, which were highly cohesive and organized, were one of the primary providers of rudimentary social welfare provisions to families. This sets Iceland apart from Sweden and Denmark, where government stepped in as the primary provider of rudimentary welfare beginning in the 1890s. For full article text, please visit:  http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/icelands-political-identity-scandinavian-or-british-4745/