The social construction of Swedish neutrality : challenges to Swedish identity and sovereignty / Christine Agius.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Agius, Christine, author.

Series:

New approaches to conflict analysis.

New approaches to conflict analysis

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Neutrality--Sweden.

Neutrality.

National characteristics, Swedish.

Neutrality--Social aspects--Sweden.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 253 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Neutrality as a concept and practice has long been conceptualised in IR theory as problematic. Broadly seen as the tool of small and weak states with dubious moral credentials, a limited understanding of neutrality has persisted from the Peloponnesian War to the 'war on terror'. Furthermore, as globalisation and non-traditional security problems animate international politics, neutrality is seen as a policy of the past. This book argues that neutrality has been a neglected and misunderstood subject, limited to realist understandings of war and viable statecraft, and in doing so aims to uncover the normative strands of neutrality that mesh with identity, security and alternatives to the anarchic international order. Using Sweden as a case study, it explores the domestic roots of neutrality via a constructivist analysis, examining how neutrality is embedded in ideas of self, and part of a wider Social Democratic vision of active internationalism. Identity, however, is malleable and subject to change, and this analysis also considers the impact of globalisation and European integration, the end of bipolarity, and new security threats such as global terrorism on neutrality as an idea and a practice.

Contents:

7 Into Europe with the SAP: Sweden as an EU member state8 The 'war on terror' and globalisation: implications for neutrality and sovereignty; Conclusion: The failure of neutrality?; Bibliography; INDEX.

Copyright; CONTENTS; ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; Introduction; 1 Writing neutrality: from the Peloponnesian War to the Cold War; 2 Neutrality 'is what states make of it': rethinking neutrality through constructivism; 3 Neutrality as a Social Democratic project: tracing the origins of Swedish neutrality,1814-1945; 4 Sweden's post-war neutrality doctrine: active internationalism and 'credible neutrality'; 5 The crisis in Swedish Social Democracy: paving the path for a new identity; 6 A new Swedish identity? Bildt, Europe and neutrality in the post-Cold War era.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781784990022

1784990027

9781781701263

1781701261

9781847791993

1847791999

OCLC:

818847233