Prof. Dr. Norbert Götz

The ascendency of executive power in the presence of weak parliamentary and societal control has given rise to a need for deliberative forms of diplomacy in international relations. As Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden regularly include members of parliament, party representatives, and representatives of civil society in their delegations to the General Assembly of the United Nations, does this imply that a Nordic model exists? This book reviews the practice of these countries and finds that the role of societal representatives has diminished from participating members of delegations to mere observers. The Nordic examples illuminate the difficulties of achieving international governance through the practice of deliberative democracy.

OA fulltext available under:
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:450674/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Das zwanzigste Jahrhundert ist zu Recht als ein "Jahrhundert der Extreme" bezeichnet worden. Die in der historischen Bewertung so unterschiedlichen nationalen und sozialen Integrationskonzepte der Volksgemeinschaft in Deutschland und des Volksheims in Schweden stehen exemplarisch für destruktive beziehungsweise konstruktive Versuche, den Herausforderungen dieses Jahrhunderts zu begegnen.

Der empirische Hauptteil der Dissertation ist in zwei große Blöcke untergliedert. Zunächst wird die Begriffsgeschichte von Volksgemeinschaft (folkgemenskap) und Volksheim (folkhem) im Deutschen und Schwedischen verglichen. Angesichts der Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Verwender und Verwendungszusammenhänge lautet die Schlußfolgerung, daß das heute gängige Verständnis der Volksgemeinschaft als einer propagandistischen Luftblase der deutschen Nationalsozialisten und des schwedischen Volksheims als der Umschreibung für einen egalitären Wohlfahrtsstaat das Ergebnis spezifischer politischer Erfahrungen und insofern gut begründet, aber kein essentieller, vor- oder festgeschriebener Bedeutungsgehalt der Worte ist. Die in der historischen Entwicklung so unterschiedlichen Fälle Deutsches Reich und Schweden werden im ersten Teil des Vergleichs also auf Gemeinsamkeiten der Spannbreite ihrer Schlüsselbegriffe Volksgemeinschaft und Volksheim hin analysiert. Unterschiede werden dabei weniger im Ländervergleich als beim Vergleich unterschiedlicher Akteure innerhalb der beiden Länder deutlich.

Im zweiten großen empirischen Block werden für den Zeitraum 1932/33 bis 1945 einzelne Politikfelder für das Deutsche Reich und Schweden untersucht, die im Zusammenhang mit Diskussionen über Volksgemeinschaft und Volksheim von besonderem Belang sind. Ausgewählt wurden für die Analyse die Bereiche Jugendpolitik, Dienstpflichtpolitik, Sozialpolitik und Bevölkerungspolitik. Mit Ausgangspunkt in der ähnlichen Begrifflichkeit im Deutschen und Schwedischen geht es in diesen Kapiteln darum, unterschiedliche Anwendungsweisen und Innovationsformen der praktischen Politik herauszuarbeiten. Als grundlegend für die nationalsozialistische Politik wird die Vorstellung der Volksgemeinschaft als einer "konkreten Ordnung" (Carl Schmitt) herausgearbeitet, die essentiell und letztlich rassenbedingt vorgegeben ist und der durch die nationalsozialistische Bewegung authentischer Ausdruck beigebracht werden muß. Der demokratischen, insbesondere auch sozialdemokratischen Politik in Schweden liegt demgegenüber die Vorstellung des Volksheims als einer "provisorischen Utopie" (Ernst Wigforss) zugrunde, die grundsätzlich verhandelbar und am Wohle des Einzelnen orientiert ist. Daß Schweden nur einen Annährungswert an dieses Ideal darstellt, daß demokratische Staaten nicht grundsätzlich gegen problematische Entwicklungen gefeit sind, sondern immer wieder aufs Neue funktionale und humanistische politische Erfordernisse in Einklang bringen müssen, zeigt die aktuelle Diskussion über schwedische Zwangssterilisierungen in den dreißiger Jahren und später.

Als Quellen für diese begriffsgeschichtliche und institutionenanalytische Arbeit werden Zeugnisse von Politikern, Parteien, der politischen Publizistik, der Staatsverwaltung, Justiz und Wissenschaft verwendet. Es handelt sich im wesentlichen um programmatische und propagandistische Schriften und Reden, Artikel und Aufsätze aus parteinahen Zeitungen und Zeitschriften, politische Gutachten und Entwürfe, Gesetzes- und Verordnungsblätter sowie um statistische Aufstellungen. Ein besonderes Augenmerk gilt visuellem Material wie Karikaturen, Schaubildern und politischen Werbebildern.

The essays in this collection present research on national, class, and gender identities in the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe being conducted by researchers based at the Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University, Stockholm. The contributors focus on transnational flow as they explore Danish, Estonian, Finnish, German, Lithuanian, Moldovan, Polish, Russian, and Swedish instances, and the region at large. The studies examine fluid identities in a historical perspective and show how notions of identity have been naturalised in specific contexts.

This book is issued in conjunction with the fifteenth anniversary of the Swedish Institute of Contemporary History. By bringing to the public the most current findings in Baltic and East European studies and offering an overview of work done by the institute’s researchers, it hopes to demonstrate the fruitfulness of opening contemporary history to broader regional and transnational approaches.

An dieser Festschrift zu Ehren Bernd Henningsens, des Vorreiters der politik- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Nordeuropaforschung in Deutschland und langjährigen Direktors des Nordeuropa-Instituts an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, haben 25 Kollegen, Weggefährten und Schüler aus sieben Ländern mitgewirkt. Die vertretenen Aufsätze greifen Facetten von Henningsens Interessen und Fragestellungen in den Feldern politischer Kultur, Geschichtspolitik und Wissenschaftsorganisation auf und demonstrieren anhand von Beispielen aus den skandinavischen Ländern und den anderen Ostseeanrainern deren anhaltende Relevanz. Der repräsentativ gestaltete Band wird von einer Vita Henningsens und einem Schriftenverzeichnis abgerundet.

Analyzing Nordic regional cooperation within international organizations, this volume seeks to shed light on the politics of alignment and distinct macro-regional identity-building in international arenas. Exploring the middle ground between the national and the international, contributors discuss how Nordic governments and associations have successfully created and used the image of a distinct group within the international system and where they have failed. Presenting a richer picture of international and transnational relations, the volume’s features include:

    a key focus on the ‘Nordic model’ with its schism in regard to the EU

    studies on cooperation between governments and within civil society, including trade unions and anti-EU movements

    contributions from Nordic and international experts highly respected in their fields

Seeking to move beyond neo-realist and cosmopolitan approaches in international studies, Regional Cooperation and International Organizations will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, regionalism, Nordic studies, and Transnationalism.

Die Wiederentdeckung des Raumes als Kategorie der Geistes- bzw. Kulturwissenschaften hat in letzter Zeit dazu geführt, einen spatial oder topographical turn zu postulieren. Dabei interessiert nicht allein der konkrete, dreidimensionale Raum, sondern ebenso der 'graphische' Aspekt, das Lesen oder Entziffern von Zeichen und Spuren des Raumes. Die Publikation geht von der Annahme aus, dass sich beide Aspekte in den hier untersuchten Beispielen in besonderer Weise verbinden: Wie wohl keine andere europäische Region hat sich die Ostseeregion mit dem Verschwinden des Ost-West-Konflikts in den letzten zwanzig Jahren als politischer, wirtschaftlicher und kultureller Raumzusammenhang neu konstituiert. Diese Prozesse sind eng verwoben mit der kognitiven Dimension, der Wahrnehmung des Raums. So impliziert die häufige Bezugnahme auf die Geschichte und Kultur der Region, dass dieser Raumzusammenhang erst durch die historische und kulturelle 'Brille' adäquat wahrgenommen werden kann, sich also erst im Prisma der Kulturwissenschaften dem Betrachter erschließt. Zugleich ist damit die soziale und kulturelle Konstruktion von Räumen allgemein in den Blick geraten und das ursprünglich von Psychologen und Geographen entwickelte Konzept der 'mental maps' aufgegriffen. Der Band vereinigt in den Beiträgen von Historikern, Politikwissenschaftlern, Geographen und Literaturwissenschaftlern die beiden skizzierten Stränge: Sie betrachten räumliche Wahrnehmungen in der Ostseeregion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, und sie legen die kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Relevanz der Beschäftigung mit mentalen Landkarten dar.
(mental mapping)

The Baltic Sea region offers exceptionally rich material for the discussion of civil society. This is because it has witnessed the erosion of communist regimes, the crisis of the welfare state, the increasing importance of new social movements and the shift from a centralist paradigm to one oriented towards networks. This engaging book focuses on the phenomena and prospects for civil society in north-eastern Europe which have had a major impact on political and scholarly debates since 1989. Nineteen experts from the region provide a comprehensive and comparative account of the history, the present state and the perspectives of civil society in the Baltic Sea area. The reader will learn that civil society should not only be seen in opposition to the state and that it has a major impact on current developments of European integration.

Contents: Part I: The Concept of Civil Society: Civil society in the Baltic Sea region: towards a hybrid theory, Norbert Götz and Jörg Hackman; State, citizenship and civil society, Henrik Stenius; Is civil society possible without bourgeois society?, Dariusz Gawin. Part II: Historical Perspectives: Century of corporatism or century of civil society? The Northern European experience, Norbert Götz; Civil society against the state? Historical experiences of Eastern Europe, Jörg Hackmann; 'Obshchestvennost': Russia's lost concept of civil society, Vadim Volkov. Part III: Preconditions in the Baltic Sea Region: Some theoretical remarks on civil religion and civil society, Walter Rothholz; The economic foundations of civil society: empirical evidence from new democracies in the Baltic Sea region, Claudia-Yvette Matthes; Civil codes for a civil society: aspects of private law reform in the three Baltic countries, Helmut Heiss. Part IV: Limits of Civil Society: Voluntary organizations and the Norwegian welfare state: from mutual trust to contracting?, Magne Eikås and Per Selle; Private and public welfare: Sweden's child day-care in comparative perspective, Ann-Katrin Hatje; Ethnic limits of civil society: the case of Latvia, Artis Pabriks; Ethnic limits of civil society: the case of Estonia, Aleksei Semjonov; The Russian mafia and civil society, Petra Stykow. Part V: Trans-National Cooperation: University exchange and post-modern transfer of civicness, Kazimierz Musial; Local and regional cooperation: the institutionalization of twinning, Carl-Einar Stålvant; The Saami people and Nordic civil societies, Reetta Toivanen; Networking civil society in the Baltic Sea region, Carsten Schymik; Talking 'Civil': learning from region-building, Pertti Joenniemi; Bibliography; Index.

Götz, Norbert and Emilia Palonen, “History: The Moral Economy Perspective”, Research Handbook on Populism, ed. by Yannis Stavrakakis and Giorgos Katsambekis (Cheltenham: Elgar, 2024), 239–250. (OA forthcoming)

Context, variety and genealogy are among the contributions historical studies generally make to populism research. This chapter argues that there is another, as yet almost untapped, resource in historical approaches, namely a theory of moral economy that, when stripped of normative presumptions and idiographic limitations, can improve our understanding of populist moments and movements in the past - as well as in the present. This chapter fathoms what historical perspectives have on offer for populism research, enhancing knowledge into social, cultural, economic and political circumstances with the benefit of hindsight. It illustrates this by providing a chronological overview of key populist movements over the past two centuries. It does so from a moral economy perspective that correlates populism with notions of social justice, as well as with a perceived lack of acknowledgement and violation of entitlements.

This overview begins with a discussion of how the term NGO entered international relations in connection with the UN Charter conference. It continues with a chronological sketch of the emergence of NGOs in the nineteenth century. It then discusses the quantitative development of NGOs until today, periodisation issues, and major trends, suggesting a politico-economic perspective in tension with geopolitical IR approaches.
For a fulltext see: https://books.google.se/books?id=bwaQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT60

This article examines how monies raised by the London-based „Committee for Relieving the Distresses in Germany and Other Parts of the Continent“ (1805–1815) were distributed by local committees, with the city of Erfurt as an example. Due to a lack of source material for the first campaign in 1805–1806 the focus is on the years 1814–1815. Networks of German immigrants within the British and Foreign Bible Society played a pivotal role on both occasions. Outstanding among them was Ernst August Schwabe, minister of one of the German churches in London and a native of Erfurt. The study shows how the transnational relief effort was organized, the way civil societies in London and Erfurt were interlinked through the aid campaign, and why the Erfurt committee of distribution failed in its trans-regional role. The provision of aid illustrates the diverging interests of donors in immediate emergency relief and of recipients in long-term use of the appropriated resources. A large proportion of the aid eventually went into a fund for war orphans, the disbursal of which was, in practice, controlled by the local women’s association.

This article engages with political region building by examining the
diverging conceptions of the Baltic Sea region since the 1970s. It
maps the fuzzy geography arising from the enmeshment of territory
with a multitude of frameworks for regional action. After 1989, the
region became the object of interregional and neighborhood policies
established by the European Union, with shifting territorial delimitations
according to various internal and geopolitical needs of the day.
Drawing on functional, relational, and administrative perspectives, it is
shown how spatial definitions surrounding the Baltic Sea region have
varied over the past fifty years, revealing those transnational connections
that have been valued as worthwhile political investments.

Sweden’s relationship with the United Nations fluctuated considerably between 1941 and 1946. This article examines how the Nordic country’s own security interests were sometimes viewed as compatible and sometimes at odds with membership of the United Nations. The discussions surrounding Sweden’s accession to the United Nations and actions of its first delegates to the international organisation are explored at length. So too is the discrepancy between Sweden’s reputation for neutrality and its enthusiastic support for the United Nations, on the one hand, and its internal debates and policy decisions during the 1940s, on the other. Finally, the article explores the ways in which Sweden used the United Nations as an arena in which to manifest both its indifference to security alignment and its exceptionalism in world affairs.

Free download at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2015.1054556.
This article challenges E.P. Thompson’s definition of ‘moral  economy’ as a traditional consensus of crowd rights that were swept away by market forces. Instead, it suggests that the concept has the potential of improving the understanding of modern civil society. Moral economy was a term invented in the eighteenth century to describe many things. Thompson’s approach reflects only a minor part of this conceptual history. His understanding of moral economy is conditioned by a dichotomous view of history and by the acceptance of a model according to which modern economy is not subject to moral concerns. It is on principle problematic to confine a term conjoining two concepts as general as ‘moral’ and ‘economy’ to a specific historical and social setting. Recent approaches that frame moral economy as an emotively defined order of morals are also misleading since they do not address economic issues in the way they are commonly understood. The most promising current approaches appear to be those that consider the moral economy of welfare, humanitarianism, and civil society. The concept of moral economy may help us to clarify alternative ways of ‘utility maximisation’ through the
construction of altruistic meaning for economic transactions.

Free download at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2014.918559. The London-based Committee for Relieving the Distressed Inhabitants of Germany, and Other Parts of the Continent is an early example of a large-scale voluntary relief programme that has gone unappreciated in the annals of humanitarianism. The present article examines the period in 1808 and 1809 when this committee redirected its relief efforts to Sweden. The case highlights many issues that beset humanitarianism today. With well-preserved recipient records, it offers insight to aspects of humanitarian encounters that have been markedly under-researched. It examines how foreign-policy interests fostered mis-conceptions about those in need and how such misconceptions resulted in corrupt distribution structures. It shows that asymmetries in the development of civil society impeded the relief effort and that the divergent interests of donors and distributors caused the forms of relief to be inadequate and agency to be lost. Moreover, it illustrates how local elites resisted advice from abroad and how the individual personalities involved shaped policy outcomes. These factors remain issues at the present time and the case of two Protestant European countries with a cultural affinity illustrates how significant they are.

This article examines the British humanitarian relief campaign initiated by the Committee for Relieving the Distresses in Germany and Other Parts of the Continent (1805–1815). It demonstrates the significance of two aspects for the campaign: the activism of London-based immigrant communities on the one hand, and British solidarity with allied countries during the Napoleonic Wars and the related matter of national mobilisation against France on the other. While immigrant activism was a major driving force of the campaign, its impact depended on the integration of immigrants into British society and on the mobilisation of Britons. Moreover, while the alliance with German states was often underlined in the publicity efforts of the campaign, wider humanitarian concerns were also addressed.

The transdisciplinary coherence of area studies can be enhanced through a cross-fertilisation of historical and social sciences with concepts derived from philology and cultural studies. The five Scandinavian power investigations (Norway 1972–1982, Sweden 1985–1990, Denmark 1997–2003, Norway 1997–2003, and Finland 2007–2010) are here recognised as a unique body of work. Blending politically guided perspectives with collaborative scholarly analysis, these investigations represent events rather than texts. For this reason the concept of genre does not sufficiently capture their essence. Instead, power investigations are seen as comprehensive politico-cultural practices identified by 14 characteristics imported from the humanities. The utility of these investigations in suggesting transparency and self-reflection enhances the legitimacy of Scandinavian government.

Sweden has opted for a more ambitious foreign aid target than required by the UN norm. The country has occasionally met its own goal of appropriating at least one per cent of GNI for development assistance. It has frequently come close to achieving this higher standard that it has set for itself while it has always – for the past thirty-five years – honoured the 0.7 per cent ODA target prescribed by the United Nations. Throughout this period Sweden has been approximately three times as generous as the average OECD member. This international anomaly may best be explained by ideological and strategic considerations made public by Swedish decision makers on both the national and the global level.
Sweden’s generous development assistance may be interpreted as a way in which the Swedish state and populace committed themselves to certain norms and values and strove to acquire the position of an international role model. In doing so Sweden has acquired a measure of global leadership or ‘soft power’. The choice of Southern Africa as a regional focus for development assistance along with support for the cause of national liberation in the case of the last (Portuguese) colonies and for the so-called ‘frontline states’ against the Apartheid regime has further symbolized Sweden’s strong commitment for the Third World. Alongside the reputation of presenting itself as a model welfare state, Sweden’s demonstration of international solidarity has enabled it to occupy a more prominent role in world politics than what might have been expected from a country of less than 10 million inhabitants. Development aid has been an investment in international prestige and influence and, during the Cold War, also a marker of Swedish non-alignment in security policy matters. At the same time, the consonance of having a comprehensive domestic welfare system alongside the idea that international assistance should be given to those in need has given the country a consistent image. In the political culture of Sweden this altruist status was a significant argument for the expansion of development assistance in the 1960s and 1970s, but also for its maintenance since then.

This chapter provides, first, a brief overview of the conceptual history of civil society and NGOs, followed by a sketch of the two-hundred-year development of this type of non-state actors. Third, a selection of scholarly accounts is presented. The chapter concludes by suggesting a conceptual hierarchy between the terms ‘civil society’ and ‘NGO’ and by calling for a productive utilization of the descriptive and normative aspects of both terms.

Existing research on Scandinavian peace activism has largely been guided by a traditional nation-state perspective and an institutionalist outlook. This view puts the starting point of Scandinavian peace activism in the 1880s, the time when the first peace associations were established in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The article at hand demonstrates that a new chapter to the history of Nordic peace activism can be added, covering the period from 1843 to the early 1880s. This is achieved by applying a transnational perspective on nineteenth-century peace activism that redirects the focus from national accomplishments and movements to individuals and transnational networks, as well as to the dissemination of ideas on peace.

This article examines Norwegian policy vis-à-vis the United Nations (UN) through the end of 1945. From here it will become clear that framing foreign policy orientations of the 1940s along conventional lines exaggerates the commitment of Norwegian politicians to two grand ideas. The novel idea of Atlantic alignment, developed by Norwegian circles in London exile, was more ambiguous than generally acknowledged and left room for universal extension. By contrast, the alleged turn in the mid-1940s toward support of the UN was in the form of lip-service as opposed to action that would have engaged actors from Norway. The government outsourced policy-making on the issue to a small circle of experts and made no attempt to exert leadership in regard to UN matters. Norway's indifference toward the UN in the 1940s stands in marked contrast to the country's later reputation as a faithful supporter of the world organization.

In this chapter, I challenge the ‘Norden as intrinsic value’ point of view and present evidence for a more instrumental background in the construction of Norden from the outside, from meeting points between the single Nordic countries and the world at large.  More precisely, I will analyse what I call the Genevese construction of Norden, a project that took place at the seat of the League of Nations during the interwar years. The focus put on this construction work at a location out of Norden illustrates the disembeddedness of a main construction site for building regional cohesion but does not deny the vital role Nordic actors played in the actual processes. Rather, the outward focus redirects attention to the interaction with outsiders, both parts operating from their historically formed mental maps and what they perceive as their interests in a global, multi-purpose institutional setting.

This article examines the emergence of the so-called Western European and Others Group as well as that of the caucus of European Communities at the General Assembly of the United Nations based on a study of documents from Nordic foreign ministries in the period 1945 to 1975. It shows that the global entanglement of Western Europe both stimulated and inhibited the development of closer subcontinental collaboration during the Cold War, and it demonstrates that a European core was necessary for facilitating common political action. The hesitant and reactive evolution of Western European collaboration at the United Nations, the arbitrariness of its geographical scope, and the alienation of its members provide a key to understanding European identity in the second half of the twentieth century.

In this article I aim to provide a better understanding of the concept `non-governmental organization' and its implications for the politics of international relations. As the prevailing confusion about the term stems largely from poor knowledge about the politics behind its introduction and function, the overarching question asks how NGOs have been socially constructed as actors on the margins of the international stage. To this end, a sound insight into the little-known conceptual history and background of the term `NGO' in what might be called a `Westphalian nomenclature' is given. I suggest that the still prevalent NGO terminology is an outcome of political games played by various actors, restricting and containing the signified organizations. The article provides a non-substantial, functional and politics-oriented definition of the term NGO, which differs significantly from previous attempts to attach meaning to it. It also suggests improved choices of terminology for general International Relations theorizing.

From the mid-1950s on, the United Nations (UN) provided a forum for Finland to have an international presence despite its status as a neutral country in the Cold War. But until 1955, Finland's bid to join the UN was blocked by the Soviet Union. The inability to gain admission caused some Finns to favor staying outside the UN, a view that gained its widest circulation in the latter half of 1950 after the UN had been invoked to respond to North Korea's attack on South Korea. Nonetheless, although some Finns were concerned that membership in the UN might cause their country to become embroiled in a superpower Cold War conflict against its will, others believed that entry into the UN would confer prestige and legitimacy on Finland and strengthen its position as a sovereign member of the international community. Although Finns realized that the UN would not provide a security guarantee, the organization did help Finland to consolidate its neutral position in the Cold War international system.
ERRATUM: In Norbert Götz’s article in the Spring 2008 issue (“‘In a Class by Itself ’: Cold War Politics and Finland’s Position vis-à-vis the United Nations, 1945–1956”), the repository for documents cited in footnotes 19, 61, and 84 should have been the Finnish Foreign Ministry Archive rather than the Swedish Foreign Ministry Archive.

The present article examines the discussions and politics surrounding the labor services in the United States and Sweden, against the backdrop of the “Nazi model” and of the Great Depression and World War II. The mere existence of the Nazi labor service posed a severe challenge to these two nations, since a labor service was discussed – and eventually established – in both countries. In this comparative study of labor service policy in the face of the practices of the Nazi regime, the United States and Sweden represent different types of Western democracy. They were also quite different in size and geopolitical position. We will show that in spite of these differences, the perceptions of the German labor service left a deep imprint on both democratic societies. Moreover, there are many parallels in the way in which the Third Reich impinged on their respective social policies in the 1930s and 1940s.

Starting from the observation of a renaissance of the term ‘parliamentary diplomacy’ in practical politics - if with a shift of meaning from parliamentary methods and procedures toward parliamentary agents - this article pleads for a scholarly adaptation of the concept and suggests not to neglect either of these dimensions. Reviewing the history of the League of Nations, in particular its creation and the policies and patterns of delegation and group formation pursued by the Scandinavian countries, the historical interrelation of the aspect of strategic alignment and representative delegation of legislators is shown. International relations theory, in particular constructivist approaches, should note that the twentieth century’s contribution to diplomatic history, meaning the emergence of multilateral diplomacy on a regular basis, is parliamentary not only in regard to the character of its proceedings, but also increasingly in regard to some of the relevant diplomatic agents.

The following essay provides an overview of the broad international discourse surrounding the concept of Volksgemeinschaft as it concerned Germans abroad. The empirical examples that I present reflect the ideas of the largest groups, those in closest geographical proximity to Germany, and those whose ideas were most representative of the different concepts of Volksgemeinschaft. Due to this study’s methodological orientation toward conceptual history, I also have given preference to cases where the names of institutions or titles of publications actually use the term Volksgemesinschaft.  Therefore, Mexico and Brazil, where such organizations and writings were prominent, are discussed much more frequently in what follows than, for example, the US, despite its larger population of German heritage.

The idea of Denmark as an originally enthusiastic and true believer in an international legal order within the framework of the United Nations belongs to a category that can been labeled "factoids", apparent facts that do not stand closer scrutiny.  The Danes were generally not naïve in their world view after liberation from German occupation in 1945, but quite realistic in their assessment of the international situation. It was both understood in Denmark that an early membership in the United Nations would be of much importance for the country's reputation and position in the world and that -- in spite of certain shortcomings -- there was actually not any other security policy alternative to the immediate post-war order that the country could rely on.

In the wake of the Cold War, the concept of Norden (‘the North’) comprising the countries of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland has lost some of its attraction. Norden does not any longer imply a favourable position with a lower level of tension than in the rest of Europe. And, admittedly, at present there are many reasons for the promotion of ‘new regionalism’ in the Northern hemisphere and in the Baltic Sea region. It would, however, be a mistake to underestimate the enduring relevance of Norden as a historical region. As it will be shown in this article, there is a multitude of highly important cultural and historical interdependencies and similarities that make Norden an interesting object and case for research.

Rechtsextremismus wird in der Forschung vor allem als eine Reaktion auf negative Modernisierungserfahrungen angesehen. Wirtschaftliche Probleme und Ängste sind nach dieser Sichtweise der Nährboden rechtsextremer Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen. Bei aller Plausibilität hat diese Modernisierungsverlierer-Hypothese empirisch wenig Bestätigung gefunden. Hier wird vorgeschlagen, den Modernisierungsansatz nicht in erster Linie auf sozioökonomische Deprivationserlebnisse zu beziehen, sondern im Sinne einer kulturellen und psychologischen Verweigerung gegenüber moderner Reflexivität. Diese These greift zum einen auf die Autoritarismusforschung zurück, zum anderen bündelt sie Ansätze, die die Gegnerschaft des Rechtsextremismus zu postmaterialistischem Wertewandel, Multikulturalismus und Postfordismus thematisieren. Anhand eines Berliner Datensatzes wird die Erklärungskraft der psychokulturellen Sichtweise nachgewiesen. Der Rechtsextremismus, der durch die beiden ideologischen Dimensionen Antiindividualismus und Antiuniversalismus definiert wird, könnte durch ein praxisorientiertes Bekenntnis zur multikulturellen und reflexiven Gesellschaft in die Schranken gewiesen werden.

Obwohl oder gerade weil es im Schwedischen keine griffige Entsprechung des deutschen Begriffs Verband gibt – man behilft sich mit dem mehrdeutigen Wort organisation, gelegentlich wird auch von „Interessenorganisation“, „(ideellem) Verein“ oder „Zusammenschluss“ gesprochen –, hat die Rede vom schwedischen Modellcharakter für den Bereich des Verbandswesens besondere Berechtigung. Schweden nahm in der Diskussion über (Neo-)Korporatismus einen herausgehobenen Platz ein und ist mehr als andere Länder durch die Aktivität von Verbänden geprägt. Die schwedische Gesellschaft, einschließlich ihres Staatsapparats, ist geradezu als „meta-association“ bezeichnet worden (Stenius 2010: 59). Auf begrifflicher Ebene spiegelt sich dieser Umstand in der verbreiteten Bezeichnung Organisationssverige, Verbandsschweden, in dem Verbände, Gesellschaft und Staat zu einer Einheit verschmolzen sind. Sozial manifestiert sich die Bedeutung der Verbände in ausgesprochen hohen Mitgliedszahlen und großer Vereinsdichte, keineswegs nur im gewerkschaftlichen Bereich. Und historisch kommt den Verbänden in Schweden als entscheidendes Verdienst zu, die moderne Demokratie nicht nur politisch mit erkämpft, sondern vor allem in der gesellschaftlichen Breite verankert zu haben.

Der Beitrag zeichnet skizzenhaft nach, in welchen Schritten und auf welche Weise das uns heute vertraute Universalitätsprinzip der Vereinten Nationen gegen konkurrierende Vorstellungen – insbesondere der des demokratischen Frieden – durchgesetzt wurde.

Geneva is known as the city of international organisations and peace. For the Nordic countries Geneva is a particular relevant place to remember, not only because of their own prominent role in the work of universal international organisation, but also because the city has been the genuine site for Nordic cooperation in the interwar years.

Review essay covering:

Reinhard Wesel: Symbolische Politik der Vereinten Nationen. Die „Weltkonferenzen“ als Rituale. 282 S., Leske + Budrich, Opladen 2004.

Klaus Dieter Wolf: Die UNO. Geschichte, Aufgaben, Perspektiven. 128 S., Verlag C. H. Beck, München 2005.

Gerd Hankel: Die UNO. Idee und Wirklichkeit. 127 S., Hamburger Edition, Hamburg 2006.

Klaus Dicke und Manuel Fröhlich (Hg.): Wege Multilateraler Diplomatie. Politik, Handlungsmöglichkeiten und Entscheidungsstrukturen im UN-System. 160 S., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2005 (Jenaer Beiträge zur Politikwissenschaft, Bd. 10).

Johannes Varwick und Andreas Zimmermann (Hg.): Die Reform der Vereinten Nationen. Bilanz und Perspektiven. 331 S., Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2006 (Veröffentlichungen des Walther-Schücking-Instituts für Internationales Recht an der Universität Kiel, Bd. 162).

Sabine von Schorlemer (Hg.): „Wir, die Völker (…)“ – Strukturwandel in der Weltorganisation: Konferenzband aus Anlass des 60-jährigen Bestehens der Vereinten Nationen vom 27.–28. Oktober 2005 in Dresden. 228 S., Peter Lang, Frankfurt/Main u.a. 2006 (Dresdner Schriften zu Recht und Politik der Vereinten Nationen, Bd. 1).

Kerstin Martens: NGOs and the United Nations. Institutionalization, Professionalization and Adaptation. 199 S., Palgrave, New York 2005.

Claudia Kissling: Die Interparlamentarische Union im Wandel. Rechtspolitische Ansätze einer repräsentativ-parlamentarischen Gestaltung der Weltpolitik. 736 S., Peter Lang, Frankfurt/Main u.a. 2006 (Studien zum Öffentlichen Recht, Völker- und Europarecht, Bd. 12).

Courtney B. Smith: Politics and Process at the United Nations. The Global Dance. 317 S., Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder/London 2006.

Rev. and extended version in German: “Funktionale Vernunft und soziale Ingenieurskunst: Schwedische und deutsche Reaktionen auf die demographische Krise der 1930er Jahre.” Bevölkerungsfragen: Prozesse des Wissenstransfers in Deutschland und Frankreich (1870–1939). Patrick Krassnitzer and Petra Overath (eds). Cologne: Böhlau, 2007. 317–342.

Dagens debatt om folkhemmet präglas av mytbildning och ideologiproduktion. Historien om Folkhemmet har blivit en del i en nutida politisk kamp, som handlar om vem som skall få makten i framtiden. I den här artikeln får den inflammerade frågan en belysning från tysk horisont.