Abstract
Due to their specificity, the Nordic countries constitute an important point of reference in international comparisons (Esping-Andersen 1985/1990: Schmidt 1983; Castles 1978; Castles/Mitchell 1993). A smooth passage to modernity with the outcome of a benevolent welfare state combined with a vibrant civil society measured in terms of membership affiliation and active civic engagement has set the Scandinavian countries apart from other regions in the world that in the past were far less successful in managing the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society peacefully and without major disruptions. With very few exceptions, processes of modernization and specifically the pathway to democracy in Continental Europe and in other parts of the world have been extremely conflict-ridden until most recently. Italy, Germany, Austria and selected East European countries such as Hungary or Poland provide textbook examples for the magnitude of conflicts and problems that came along with those societal and political changes constituting the core of what sociologists call "modernization".