This book examines consensual policy-making in the Scandinavian countries and shows how strong relations were built between the state and different interest groups in the early twentieth century. The preconditions for these relations are strong civil societies, strong unitary states, and high levels of trust. Consensual policies nevertheless come at a price, and since the 1970s all of the Scandinavian countries have loosened their corporatist structures to pave the way for reforms.