Journal of Intelligence and Terrorism Studies, 2016
This article analyses the historical context of the crisis. It considers the relations in the tri... more This article analyses the historical context of the crisis. It considers the relations in the triangle Russia–Ukraine–West against the background of the Ukrainian events during and after Maidan, as well as the reunion/annexation of Crimea with/by Russia. In Ukraine this has largely been seen as a conquest, but in Crimea itself (and Russia) significant majority regard it as a successful outcome. It analyses the major factors in this conflict, as well as offering a recommendation for its possible resolution. The “shared cradle” of Ukraine and Russia is considered, including the establishment of the Orthodox Church, whose first seat was at Kiev and whose patriarchate was eventually established at Moscow. The important role of this church — as well as that of those which have recently broken away — is also examined with respect to the conflict. The fratricidal policies of the imperial centre in the early Soviet period, the devastations of the Second World War, and the tensions of the po...
THE AFTERMATH OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR At the conclusion of the Second World War, from which Swede... more THE AFTERMATH OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR At the conclusion of the Second World War, from which Sweden had emerged largely unscathed, the country enjoyed greater social cohesion than ever before. With its social welfare infrastructure now firmly established, its benefits now came to be widely extended throughout its relatively homogeneous society, in which the overwhelming majority of citizens shared common ethnic, cultural and religious values, much as they had done for centuries. Immigration was limited largely to refugees who had escaped religious or political persecution, whether from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, or after the war from the Soviet-occupied states of eastern Europe, in particular from Poland, Estonia and Hungary. Later, they came to help carry out much of the work needed for the physical extension of the welfare state into which Sweden was being moulded, but in the immediate post-war years, their settlement – or removal – was a major problem. Deciding who could or could not remain permanently in Sweden was an especially thorny issue, often with life and death implications for the refugees. More than 30,000 refugees from the Baltic states, now occupied by the Soviet Union, were allowed to remain. On the other hand, 2,700 German soldiers, with another 145 Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians who had fought alongside the Germans but later taken flight to Sweden, were expatriated eastwards, either to prison camps or certain death. In these cases, Swedish fears of inflaming Russia, were they to permit the latter’s former enemy combatants a lasting refuge, had proved too great to overcome. Many of these refugees to Sweden, therefore, ended their lives in the Soviet labour camps to which they were ultimately sent.
THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS In comparison with other parts of Europe, what is today Sweden, as a geo... more THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS In comparison with other parts of Europe, what is today Sweden, as a geographical entity with its modern coastal contours, is of relatively recent formation, its modern emergence the result of the end of the last Ice Age, which sheeted much of Europe until about ten thousand years ago. It began to emerge from its glacial covering of ice first in Scania, in the south. There the ice had disappeared by about 11,000 bc . Further north, the glaciers in and around what later became Stockholm vanished only around 8000 bc and it took a further four thousand years for the ice to disappear in most of the rest of the country. Indeed, in parts of Norrland, in the far north, some ice remained until just before the beginning of the Christian era. Therefore, it is only from this period that one can begin to speak of Sweden’s prehistory, since there can remain no trace of any possible human presence from before the Ice Age. The first human arrivals in Sweden in the aftermath of the Ice Age came predominantly from Denmark. They travelled across the Sound which today separates the two countries but, before the mid seventeenth century, was under Danish sovereignty on both sides for centuries. The earliest human settlement so far to be uncovered is that found in the far south of the country, at Segebro, near Malmo, which dates to about 10,000–9000 years bc . Another early settlement was that at Hensbacka, in Bohuslan, which can be dated to 7300–6600 bc . It was sustained by reindeer hunting, an important source of food for many of the Nordic region’s inhabitants, even as far north as Pechenga (Petsamo, when it was Finnish between the two world wars), in what is today the far north-west of the Russian Federation. This common dependence on reindeer is an indication that a land route through the north of what is today Finland into Sweden may have been an important conduit, not only for reindeer but for migratory people as well.
Neil Kent's book sweeps through Sweden's history from the Stone Age to the present day. E... more Neil Kent's book sweeps through Sweden's history from the Stone Age to the present day. Early coverage includes Viking hegemony, the Scandinavian Union, the Reformation and Sweden's political zenith as Europe's greatest superpower in the seventeenth century, while later chapters explore the Swedish Enlightenment, royal absolutism, the commitment to military neutrality and Pan-Scandinavianism. The author brings his account up to date by focusing on more recent developments: the rise of Social Democracy, the establishment of the welfare state, the country's acceptance of membership in the European Union and its progressive ecological programme. The book successfully combines the politics, economics and social and cultural mores of one of the world's most successfully functioning and humane societies. This is an informative and entertaining account for students and general readers.
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