Swedish financier, philanthropist, and progressive Olof Aschberg played a dynamic, but “forgotten... more Swedish financier, philanthropist, and progressive Olof Aschberg played a dynamic, but “forgotten” role in the contacts between international labor, Western finance, and Soviet power across the world wars. We first suggest Aschberg can be studied as a converter of different forms of capital as well as a trader in trust in between the practices of diplomacy and entrepreneurship. We then outline Aschberg’s wide-ranging activities drawing upon existing secondary literature in lieu of a more systematic study of his life. Third, we concentrate on his interwar solidarity work and anti-fascism based in Paris. We analyze, fourth, his cultural diplomacy and publishing activities out of New York in between the Second World War and the early Cold War. Finally, we argue that Aschberg’s multi-positional and variegated vita illustrates the merit of employing entrepreneurship, in its most broad sense, as an analytical category for investigating the art and practice of citizen diplomacy.
The 1970s was a watershed for Europe and for social democracy. Economic crises, regime changes in... more The 1970s was a watershed for Europe and for social democracy. Economic crises, regime changes in Southern Europe, and rising neoliberalism posed challenges and offered opportunities that shaped the end of the 20th century. In a witness seminar organized by the Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University, and the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of Helsinki, four social democrats shed light on the period and on the interactions of Northern and Southern Europe. Participants included: Pierre Schori (former international secretary of the Swedish Social Democratic Party), Valdo Spini (former vice-secretary of the Italian Socialist Party), Ulf Sundqvist (former chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland), and Jaime Gama (founding member of the Portuguese Socialist Party)
Through tracing what ‘landscape’ has meant, and the political and intellectual work that ‘landsca... more Through tracing what ‘landscape’ has meant, and the political and intellectual work that ‘landscape’ does, we in this chapter explore the shifting nature of Nordic landscape geography. We thereby aim to introduce readers to the role of the landscape concept within Nordic scholarship and critically engage with contemporary debates over the nature and meaning of landscape. Landscape was an important political concept long before the advent of geography as a discipline in the Nordic countries, though what landscape denoted differed between various national and linguistic settings. Based in our mapping of the concept as it has evolved within geography and related disciplines, we centre on three strands of landscape scholarship today: mediations on a particularly ‘Nordic’ substantive landscape concept, attempts to utilise landscape as a concept to influence planning, and attempts to utilise landscape as a concept to grasp environmental issues. Scrutinising these current traditions leads ...
From ‘False’ Neutrality to ‘True’Socialism: Unofficial US ‘Sweden-bashing’ During the Later Palme... more From ‘False’ Neutrality to ‘True’Socialism: Unofficial US ‘Sweden-bashing’ During the Later Palme Years, 1973–1986
Swedish financier, philanthropist, and progressive Olof Aschberg played a dynamic, but “forgotten... more Swedish financier, philanthropist, and progressive Olof Aschberg played a dynamic, but “forgotten” role in the contacts between international labor, Western finance, and Soviet power across the world wars. We first suggest Aschberg can be studied as a converter of different forms of capital as well as a trader in trust in between the practices of diplomacy and entrepreneurship. We then outline Aschberg’s wide-ranging activities drawing upon existing secondary literature in lieu of a more systematic study of his life. Third, we concentrate on his interwar solidarity work and anti-fascism based in Paris. We analyze, fourth, his cultural diplomacy and publishing activities out of New York in between the Second World War and the early Cold War. Finally, we argue that Aschberg’s multi-positional and variegated vita illustrates the merit of employing entrepreneurship, in its most broad sense, as an analytical category for investigating the art and practice of citizen diplomacy.
The 1970s was a watershed for Europe and for social democracy. Economic crises, regime changes in... more The 1970s was a watershed for Europe and for social democracy. Economic crises, regime changes in Southern Europe, and rising neoliberalism posed challenges and offered opportunities that shaped the end of the 20th century. In a witness seminar organized by the Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University, and the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of Helsinki, four social democrats shed light on the period and on the interactions of Northern and Southern Europe. Participants included: Pierre Schori (former international secretary of the Swedish Social Democratic Party), Valdo Spini (former vice-secretary of the Italian Socialist Party), Ulf Sundqvist (former chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland), and Jaime Gama (founding member of the Portuguese Socialist Party)
Through tracing what ‘landscape’ has meant, and the political and intellectual work that ‘landsca... more Through tracing what ‘landscape’ has meant, and the political and intellectual work that ‘landscape’ does, we in this chapter explore the shifting nature of Nordic landscape geography. We thereby aim to introduce readers to the role of the landscape concept within Nordic scholarship and critically engage with contemporary debates over the nature and meaning of landscape. Landscape was an important political concept long before the advent of geography as a discipline in the Nordic countries, though what landscape denoted differed between various national and linguistic settings. Based in our mapping of the concept as it has evolved within geography and related disciplines, we centre on three strands of landscape scholarship today: mediations on a particularly ‘Nordic’ substantive landscape concept, attempts to utilise landscape as a concept to influence planning, and attempts to utilise landscape as a concept to grasp environmental issues. Scrutinising these current traditions leads ...
From ‘False’ Neutrality to ‘True’Socialism: Unofficial US ‘Sweden-bashing’ During the Later Palme... more From ‘False’ Neutrality to ‘True’Socialism: Unofficial US ‘Sweden-bashing’ During the Later Palme Years, 1973–1986
The ‘open society’ has become a watchword of liberal democracy and the market system in the moder... more The ‘open society’ has become a watchword of liberal democracy and the market system in the modern globalized world. Openness stands for individual opportunity and collective reason, as well as bottom-up empowerment and top-down transparency. It has become a cherished value, despite its vagueness and the connotation of vulnerability that surrounds it. Scandinavia has long considered itself a model of openness, citing traditions of freedom of information and inclusive policy making. This collection of essays traces the conceptual origins, development, and diverse challenges of openness in the Nordic countries and Austria. It examines some of the many paradoxes that openness encounters and the tensions it arouses when it addresses such divergent ends as democratic deliberation and market transactions, freedom of speech and sensitive information, compliant decision making and political and administrative transparency, and consensual procedures and the toleration of dissent.
Contributors are: Ainur Elmgren, Tero Erkkilä, Norbert Götz, Ann-Cathrine Jungar, Johannes Kananen, Lotta Lounasmeri, Carl Marklund, Peter Parycek, Johanna Rainio-Niemi, Judith Schossböck, Ylva Waldemarson, and Tuomas Ylä-Anttila.
Uploads
Papers by Carl Marklund
Contributors are: Ainur Elmgren, Tero Erkkilä, Norbert Götz, Ann-Cathrine Jungar, Johannes Kananen, Lotta Lounasmeri, Carl Marklund, Peter Parycek, Johanna Rainio-Niemi, Judith Schossböck, Ylva Waldemarson, and Tuomas Ylä-Anttila.