Politično dogajanje na Islandiji v času globalne ekonomske krize - Janežič, Maša (M. Janežič], 2015)
Islandija je bila v času globalne ekonomske krize s strani mnogih avtorjev imenovana kar za laboratorij za spopadanje s krizo. Do takšnega poimenovanja je prišlo, ker je v primerjavi z ostalimi državami, ki so se prav tako spopadale s krizo, Islandija ravnala povsem nasprotno. Mnoge so se zatekale k podobnim ukrepom pri odzivanju na krizo, kot je npr. tudi Sloveniji znana dokapitalizacija bank, medtem ko Islandija bankam ni posodila denarja ampak dovolila njihov propad. Seveda je takšno ravnanje v paniko spravilo vse lastnike imetja pri teh bankah, kar je zajemalo tudi prebivalce Velike Britanije in Nizozemske, kjer so imele propadle banke svoje podružnice. Sledila je dolžnost kritja vsega tega imetja na Islandiji in v tujini, česar si Islandska vlada ni morala privoščiti in Velika Britanija in Nizozemska sta bili prisiljeni kriti imetja na svojih ozemljih. To je Islandiji natrpalo ogromen madež dolgov zaradi katerega jim je bilo oteženo pridobivanje meddržavnih denarnih posojil. Poleg tega so imeli Islandci velike težave s padanjem vrednosti domače valute, islandske krone. Po dolgem oklevanju so se zatekli k Mednarodnemu denarnemu skladu, ki je Islandiji odobril posojilo in skupaj s svojimi zahtevami ponudil program za soočanje s krizo. Mnogi trdijo, da se je Islandija rešila iz krize nekje do sredine leta 2011, ko so uradno zaključili program z Mednarodnim denarnim skladom. A upoštevati moramo, da je kriza poleg finančnega sektorja znatno vplivala tudi na druga področja. Veliki izzivi so nastopili v politiki, domačem in mednarodnem gospodarstvu in na socialnem področju, saj so ljudje na Islandiji izgubili zaupanje v Islandsko vlado. To je vodilo v nesoglasja med ljudstvom in vodilnimi v državi, kar je povzročilo umik ljudi iz institucionalizirane politike v civilnodružbeno delovanje. Islandsko ljudstvo je z zloglasno revolucijo loncev in ponev preko protestnih shodov doseglo odstop vlade ter z zanosom pozdravilo iniciativo nove vlade za popolno prenovo islandske ustave. Medtem se veliko stvari ni izšlo po načrtih, a posamezniki so znali poiskati nove načine za doseganje cilja. Izhod države iz krize. Iceland has been dubbed a laboratory of crisis management by many. It happened so because, in comparison with other countries which were also facing the economic crisis, Iceland responded to its challenges in different ways. Many were using similar measures in dealing with the crisis, such as recapitalization of banks for example, which was also one of the measures undertaken in Slovenia whereas Icelandic state did not lend any money to the banks and allowed their collapse instead. This caused panic among the depositors at the failed banks, including those from Great Britain and the Netherlands, where the banks’ sister companies were located. Due to the collapse of the banks, there lay the responsibility to cover depositors’ losses, which the Icelandic state could not afford and Great Britain and the Netherlands were forced to do so themselves for the depositors in their own countries. This stained Iceland with a colossal debt which made it extremely difficult for them to obtain a loan. Iceland was also facing difficulties with its plummeting currency, the Icelandic Krona. After a lot of hesitation Iceland applied to the International Monetary Fund for help, which then included their own demands in their plan for responding to the crisis. Many will claim that Iceland relieved from crisis mid-2011, when they officially concluded the IMF programme. But we must remind ourselves that as the crisis affected the financial sector it also spread to other areas. Great challenges arose in politics, domestic and international economy, and in social affairs and as a result, people in Iceland lost their trust in the Icelandic government. Conflicts between the nation and the government caused retreat of the people from institutionalized politics into greater activity in civil society. The Icelandic nation demanded the resignation of the government in the so-called kitchenware revolution and enthusiastically welcomed the new government’s initiative for a complete renewal of the Icelandic constitution. A lot of things did not go according to plans but individuals often found new ways to reach a common goal. Iceland is on the path to full recovery.