Sweden and the Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive, October 1944 — January 1945

Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7 (105)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Gunnar Aselius
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
International System ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Northern Norway ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Future ◽  
International Image ◽  
Post War ◽  
Small Powers

The article deals with the problems of war and post-war Europe and the role of Sweden in the European relations in this period. The Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive and the Soviet Union military advance into northern Norway revealed the new situation when Sweden’s neutrality began to shift from adaption to Germany towards a more pro-allied stance. In these circumstances the Swedish neutrality was under the severe test: some of the cabinet ministers worried that this opportunistic shift in neutrality policy would affect the country’s international image after the war. Yet the reality imposed its conditions. This applied to the Sweden’s efforts to get Finland out of the war, reception of refugees from Finnish and Norwegian territories, ferrying wounded German soldiers across their territory. As the USSR had more military success in Lapland and Northern Norway in Swedish political and military circles increased fears about the future of the country and the post-war order. After the war, the Defense Staff stated, two antagonistic, global alliances would dominate the international system and it would be difficult for small powers like Sweden to remain neutral or independent in this environment. For Sweden to join any of the two great power blocs would obviously entail major risks. The creation of a Scandinavian defensive alliance was considered as an alternative to neutrality. Thus, it was the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive and the advance of the USSR to the West that caused serious reflections in the political life of Sweden about the future, about how a small country should act and survive in the conditions of the continuing ideological conflict of the great powers.

Commemorating the Soviet Deportations of 1945 and Community-Building in Post-communist Upper Silesia

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
EWA OCHMAN
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Regional Identity ◽  
Upper Silesia ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Collapse Of Communism ◽  
Post War ◽  
Separatist Movement ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article focuses on the remembrance of the deportations of Silesians to the Soviet Union in 1945, undertaken in Upper Silesia, Poland, after the collapse of communism. It explores the relationship between local elite-sponsored official remembrance of the deportations and the formation of regional identity in the context of the Upper Silesia's borderland locality and the post-war population movement. The article also investigates the role of public commemorations of the Silesian past in the construction of a Silesian national identity undertaken by the Silesian separatist movement that gained in popularity against the backdrop of the post-1989 de-industrialisation of the region, Poland's most important centre for coal mining industry.

scholarly journals A 25-VOLUME EDITION OF IVAN FRANKO'S WORKS: LVIV CONTRIBUTION

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 88-121
Author(s):  
Oleksandr LUTSKYI
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Main Work ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Western Ukraine ◽  
Post War ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Artistic Heritage

The article analyzes the main directions, course, and consequences of the research and publishing project of 1940-1941 in preparing for printing a 25-volume collection of works of Ivan Franko's literary-artistic heritage in the context of new political and socio-economic realities in Western Ukraine after the accession to the USSR as a part of the Ukrainian SSR at the beginning of World War II. Emphasizing the participation in these events of employees of the Lviv department of the T. Shevchenko Institute of Ukrainian Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, the author noted that the main work was carried out by the Lviv philologists, led by Academician Mykhailo Vozniak. They did the search, selection, and scientific verification of the texts, ensuring their linguistic and stylistic design, compiling the edition's reference apparatus, and others. The place and role of some compilers and editors in preparing the collection for publication, particularly M. Vozniak and Professor V. Simovych, are highlighted. The reasons which caused difficulties and insurmountable obstacles in meeting the deadline in a responsible task are revealed. It turned out that the task became much more difficult for the management of the Institute and the employees, and, first of all, for the main compilers and editors from Lviv than it seemed at first. They did not completely achieve what was planned. Before the beginning of the German-Soviet War, the State Publishing House of Ukraine managed to publish only two volumes of I. Franko's writings, although a team of Lviv scientists led by M. Vozniak had prepared for publishing a scientifically done 20-volume set of the writer's works. The German-Soviet War interrupted further printing. The post-war period's new socio-political conditions left very little space for creative activities, so M. Vozniak's attempts to complete the publication of all 25 volumes were unsuccessful in the end. Keywords: Ivan Franko, works, twenty-five-volume edition, compilers, editors, M. Vozniak.

Super Powers and the Changing International System: A Third World Perspective

1982 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-160
Author(s):  
P.S. Jayaramu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Third World ◽  
International System ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Past ◽  
System A ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Future ◽  
World Perspective

In any analysis of the role that the Super Powers—the United States and the Soviet Union—would play in the international system in the 1980s and beyond, one has to be careful of the fact that the projections that can be made cannot bear the stamp of definitiveness and are therefore debateable. Consciousness of this limitation notwithstanding, this paper attempts such an analysis. It is the belief of this writer that any projection of the Super Powers' role in the future has its roots in an understanding of the role they played in the past and are playing at present.

scholarly journals Ethnic Diasporas and US Foreign Policy

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Haglund ◽  
Elizabeth Stein
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
International System ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Irish Americans ◽  
The Cold War

The past two decades have witnessed a growing scholarly interest in the role that “ethnic diasporas” play in the formulation of America’s foreign policy. While the connection between these ethnic groupings and the policy process is not anything new in American political life, the systematic study of that connection is of relatively recent vintage. There are two chief reasons for this. First, changes in American demography since the 1970s have led to a fascination with issues related to “multiculturalism” and ethnic “identity”—in the context not only of domestic public policy, but also of foreign policy. In the case of the latter, an outpouring of articles and books has appeared dedicated to the phenomenon of ethnic “lobbying,” construed widely enough so as to include discussions of the “ethnic vote.” In addition, changes in the external environment set in motion by the ending of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union have put a premium upon such new relatively new categories of analysis as “ethnic conflict” and diasporas. Widespread stories about its “decline” to the contrary notwithstanding, America remains the most powerful state in the international system; thus, it offers ethnic diasporas the promise of exerting outsized influence should they be able to make their preferences become Washington’s preferences. This article surveys leading bibliographical sources pertaining to these various themes, embracing as well the normative debates they have engendered. Also included in this article are a set of references to a trio of very significant historical cases of ethnic “politicking” in US foreign policy, for, although the systematized study of the phenomenon may be fairly recent, the phenomenon is nearly as old as American foreign policy itself. Accordingly, three “classical cases” will be discussed: the Irish Americans, the German Americans, and the Anglo-Americans. Finally, the article surveys recent writings on contemporary cases in which ethnic diasporic activism has been said to have influenced the shaping of American foreign policy toward one region in particular (the “greater” Middle East) as well as toward regional dilemmas elsewhere (including Europe, Africa, and Latin America).

scholarly journals Change and Reform of the League of Communists in Yugoslavia

1989 ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Jim Seroka
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Future Development ◽  
International Security ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Future ◽  
Self Examination

The Yugoslav League of Communists is currently undergoing a period of self-examination and change which may be as profound and important as the period which accompanied Tito's break with Stalin in 1948. Unlike the Tito-Stalin dispute, the current crisis in the Party does not have direct foreign policy or international security implications and does not pit a weak David - Yugoslavia - against a mighty Goliath ~ the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the discussions in Yugoslav society and in the Party about the proper behavior and role of the Party will have profound implications for the future development of the country and for its social stability.

The Fall of Two Presidents and Extraparliamentary Opposition: France and the United States in 1968

1970 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Cerny
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Baby Boom ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Consumer Society ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Post War ◽  
Political Communities

EXTRAPARLIAMENTARY OPPOSTION MADE ITS APPEARANCE IN THE midst of the political upheavals of 1968 both as part of a wider phenomenon of social and political life and as the result of a specific combination of factors in certain countries, especially France and the United States. In the wider sense, it resulted from the age-old problem: are established political structures willing (or indeed able) to answer the needs of the larger socio-political communities for whose welfare they have been made responsible? The problems of the technological age—popular participation in governmental processes, the coming of age of the post-war ‘baby boom’ generation, the quality of life in the consumer society, and, perhaps most significantly, the increasing bureaucratization of administration and politics on both sides of the iron curtain—served to stoke the furnaces of scepticism and open rejection of accepted answers. As the year progressed, the collective leadership of the Soviet Union continued to pull back from the de-Stalinization of the Krushchev era, American leaders were assassinated and racial strife continued, hopes for a Middle East settlement faded, and the Vietnam war exploded in the Tet offensive. The atmosphere of hopeful progress which had permeated the early 1960s was shattered for good, and a widespread mood of frustration came to predominate.

Realist Visions of European Union: E.H. Carr and Integration

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kenealy ◽  
Konstantinos Kostagiannis
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Classical Realism ◽  
Post War

The past 15 years have seen an explosion of interest in the scholarship of E.H. Carr. As a founding figure of the realist approach to International Relations, as a philosopher of history and as a historian of the Soviet Union, Carr made important contributions. His work on the post-war political organisation of Europe has been somewhat neglected. While not going so far as to argue for the introduction of ‘another E.H. Carr’ – Carr the European integration theorist – this article argues that Carr’s specific brand of realism has much to say not only about the establishment, but also about the subsequent development, of the European Economic Community. Carr’s realism was, we argue, capable of understanding change in international society. This understanding was grounded in an appreciation of the role of power and morality in international politics and stands in sharp contrast to the emphasis on the structural factors that are prized by neorealists. While Carr’s vision of post-war Europe has not materialised in its entirety, it captures some of the crucial fault lines that animate the European project. Building a bridge between European integration studies and Carr’s realism will provide a fruitful avenue through which classical realism can once again begin to engage with developments in international politics.

The Making of a Cold Warrior: Karl Gruber and Austrian Foreign Policy, 1945–1953

1995 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 99-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Günter Bischof
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International System ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
The Status ◽  
Small Powers

In the years 1945 to 1953, Karl Gruber exerted an influence over Austrian foreign policy at times resembling the dominant influence of a Kaunitz or a Metternich. But as a diplomatist Gruber did not come close to the finesse and shrewd sense of power that his two great predecessors possessed. Moreover, Gruber had to maneuver in less predictable domestic and international terrain. During his tenure in the Ballhausplatz, foreign policy wassubject to domestic partisan struggle as well as parliamentary control and public opinion. Furthermore, Austria no longer figured as a great power and was locked into the monumental Cold War struggle between East and West on the frontline of the superpower tensions. Gruber operated in an extremely hostile international environment. Instead of the traditional well-balanced nineteenth-century “concert of powers,” which had profited so much from Austrian professional statesmanship, the inexperienced Gruber faced the United States and the Soviet Union, which were in almost total control of international politics. The two superpowers were engaged in a gigantic ideological struggle, each striving for a preponderance of power. A small nation such as Austria was buffeted to and fro between the conflicts in Central Europe and could hardly escape the pull of the global “empires” fashioned at the time. The United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other in spiraling arms races (nuclear and conventional) and rigid alliance systems in an uneasy truce called the Cold War. In this context of a tight bilateral international system, even England and France—the former great powers reduced to the status of middling powers after the ignominious loss of their great colonial empires—had a difficult time holding on to their traditional influence in the international arena. Small powers like Austria were largely impotent, unless they fashioned for themselves some room to maneuver between the superpower blocs.

Transformacja polityczna w Rosji w latach 90. XX wieku – główne problemy

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-121
Author(s):  
Konrad Świder
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
International System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
National Division ◽  
Internal Policy ◽  
Political Economic

In december 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. This fact can be considered to be the most significant geopolitical event of the second half of the 20th century. As a result of the collapse of the USSR, fifteen union republics – the main units of the administrative-political and national division of the Soviet federation – gained state sovereignty and independence. One of the most important results of this process was the creation of Russia (Russian Federation), which declared itself and was recognized as the main successor of the Soviet empire. The young state faced many difficulties, which – at the level of internal policy – include carrying out socio-political-economic transformation, overcoming the deep structural crisis inherited from the late USSR, or building modern durable democratic institutions and democratic political culture. This meant that the new Russian elites needed to make a radical system change and to develop new political mechanisms in the management of this enormous country. The article will present the main problems faced by Russia and its establishment in the 1990s, with many turning points and breakthrough moments, specific to countries undergoing intensive and multifaceted post-communist transformation. Due to the importance and the role of Russia in the international system, the directions and tendencies of changes taking place in this country are particularly important, especially from the perspective of post-Soviet states and the countries of the former socialist block.

scholarly journals CONTESTED HEGEMONY: RUSSIA’S APPROACH TO THE MILITARY AND ECONOMIC PREDOMINANCE OF THE US IN WORLD AFFAIRSHEGEMONIA CONTESTADA: A ABORDAGEM RUSSA QUANTO À PREDOMINÂNCIA MILITAR E ECONÔMICA GLOBAL DOS EUA

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valdir da Silva Bezerra
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
International System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Military

This paper discusses the Russian approach, from a rhetorical and practical viewpoint, regarding the military and economic predominance of the United States in the International System. The research method adopted was based on the compilation of statements by Russian authorities about the US position on the global stage, as well as on the presentation of the main initiatives and actions taken by the Kremlin, particularly from the 2000s onwards, in opposition to US interests both in the military and economic spheres. The first section initially deals with Russia’s intervention in Syria and Moscow's actions vis-a-vis the dismantling of bilateral nuclear-force treaties signed between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The second section brings the Russian articulation within the BRICS group as a criticism to American (and Western) privileges within institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, posteriorly pointing out to the steps taken by Moscow in its quest to make the Russian economy less dependent on the dollar. We conclude by observing that in both military and economic aspects Moscow has obtained moderate results in view of its aspirations regarding the role of counterweight to the American power in International Relations.

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