In an era of geopolitical tumultuousness and a future deemed uncertain with regard to investor confidence in political and economic risks, Norway has much to crow about. With international investors looking to re-enter the global market, the corporate foreign policies of Norway promote autonomous free enterprise and the security of low political risk for integration and investment purposes. The global financial crisis brought about horrific lows to economies worldwide - yet not to Norway. Under the strategy implemented by Kristin Halvorsen, Norway’s socialist finance minister, Norway confidently carved its own economic agenda and the results have bore fruit that not only serve as a symbol of what free-market skepticism can accomplish but how autonomous political behavior can achieve positive results and decrease notions of political risk.

Being a large oil exporter yet adhering to innovative tactics that break from the path of other major oil exporters is the critical reason Norway is basking in a more relaxed state. Instead of spending, government passed legislation ensuring that oil revenue was directed in to its SWF, entirely in to the channel used to make worldwide investments. However, Norway’s economic success due to strategic frugality has been mired with political analysts now suspecting political complacency. The New York Times recently quoted Knut Anton Mork, an economist at Handelsbanken in Oslo, stating that the current Norwegian economic strategy is based on a formula for an “oil-for-leisure program”.

And truly, no nation has gone without any scars from the global recession. While the Norwegian coalition government currently has a budget surplus and has the status of a net creditor, social security and other institutional programs act as liabilities equal to about 50% of its GDP. The government has responded quickly, stating that more of its oil wealth will be redirected to further stimulate the economy and create more jobs.

An economic beacon and a major oil exporter, Norway serves as a vaccum for a European ‘brain drain’, and is a benchmark for those looking to pursue success via entrepreneurship. Although taxation to foreign corporate investors looking to integrate has been construed as rather high, the lack of political risk and security documented through economic stability makes Norway a safe haven for those conservatively investing.

With regard to international trade, Norway has increased its role in Russian gas production in recent years. As recently as May 19, Norway’s prime minister told Russia’s president that the countries have shared interests in the natural gas sphere, and should work together to boost their market share in Europe. Jens Stoltenberg, on an official visit to Moscow, told Dmitry Medvedev: “We are both northern countries, and have major shared interests; we are large producers and exporters of natural gas and electric power. This fact means that we are partners on the European continent. We have a shared interest in developing and expanding our potential on the European gas market“.

Ultimately, Norway has entered a recession along with Russia and the rest of the world, but through autonomous innovative strategies for utilizing its role as a major oil exporter and channeling it properly, even though it bucked the trends eminating globally, their recession is far gentler. One must carefully note the actions taken by Norwegian government today onwards in how quickly they move forward from reveling in their political intelligence to how specifically they’ll increase spending to stimulate the economy and stand as a global benchmark for corporate investment yet again.