Co-operation and the emergence of the Nordic ‘middle way’

This chapter returns to the question of the distinctiveness of the co-operative movements in the Nordic countries, while at the same time considering the significance of co-operation for the emergence of the idea of the Nordic ‘middle way’ in the 1930s. The emergence of a joint Nordic position within the ICA helped to raise the international profile of the region and by the 1930s the successes of the Nordic co-operative movements were attracting the attention of foreign journalists, including the American Marquis Childs whose bestseller Sweden – the Middle Way (1936) dealt extensively with co-operation. The chapter analyses some of the reasons for the attractiveness of Nordic co-operation, in particular its claims to reconcile the interests of consumers and producers and also its efforts to tackle the problem of monopoly. President Roosevelt’s 1936 Inquiry on Co-operative Enterprise in Europe dealt extensively with the Nordic countries, and provides an important snapshot of the status of the movement in the mid-1930s.

Nordisk Andelsforbund (NAF), co-operative trade and Nordic co-operation during the interwar period

For the vast majority of men and women who joined co-operative societies and used their services, co-operation was ultimately about goods - especially daily staples such as tea, coffee, bread, flour, sugar. The co-operative movement inherited the liberal internationalist belief that trade between nations was the best means to guarantee peace and after 1918 many in the movement continued to defend the principle of free trade, while also arguing however for a new vision of international trade organised on co-operative, rather than competitive principles. The challenge for co-operators was to put this vision into practice. Attempts to establish an International Co-operative Wholesale Society (ICWS) under the auspices of the ICA proved difficult, but there was one conspicuous success in international co-operative trading, namely the Nordic Co-operative Wholesale (NAF), founded in 1918. The NAF was often cited in the ICA as a model, but attempts to emulate it were largely unsuccessful. The chapter considers why this was the case and what it can tell us about relations between different co-operative organisations.

The politics of international co-operation: neutrality and crisis

This chapter explores the debates over the meanings of co-operation in the ICA and its members during the inter-war period, tracing their evolution from the end of the First World War throughout the 1920s and 1930s, as the ICA struggled to respond to economic and political challenges of the Great Depression and its aftermath. While many members staunchly defended the principle of co-operative neutrality against those who would align the movement with left or right, the crisis also highlighted the need for the co-operative movement to develop its own ideology and programme, especially if co-operation were to realise its idealistic ambitions to defend peace and democracy. The chapter examines how the ICA responded to the challenges of Bolshevism and Nazism, and considers especially the role of representatives of the Nordic countries, not only in defending political neutrality, but also shaping an idealistic vision of co-operation, based on the legacy of the Rochdale Pioneers.

Conclusion

The conclusion returns to the main questions posed at the start of the book and sums up the findings of the empirical chapters. The main challenge for the ICA during the period studied was to develop a distinctively co-operative ideology and programme that would allow it to respond consistently to the crises and political challenges that it faced. This was not always easy, and different positions over the aims of co-operation were often the source of conflict. The Nordic co-operative organisations made a prominent and distinctive contribution to this debate, arguing for the neutrality of co-operation and its independence from other organisations such as the socialist labour movement.

Co-operative internationalism in practice: the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) before and after the First World War

Drawing on the histories of other international organisations, the chapter explores the practice of co-operative internationalism within the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) from its foundation in 1895. The chapter traces the development of the ICA’s internal organisation and the conflict that this sometimes generated, especially over the need to balance the diverse interests of different national members. The chapter analyses the role of the International Co-operative Congresses, held triennially in different European cities and how these changed over the period. It asks what the co-operative congresses can tell us about the rituals and practices of inter-war internationalism, including practical matters such as language and the logistics of travel. It also examines the changing geography of international co-operation, tracing the shift in the ICA’s centre of gravity towards northern Europe over the period.

Introduction: a transnational approach to co-operative history

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of co-operation and reviews the relevant secondary literature, as well as outlining the significance of the study in the context of broader debates on transnational history. Co-operation was from its beginnings shaped by transnational contacts and exchange, and from 1895 it also had its own international organisation, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), but there hitherto been very few studies of co-operation beyond the confines of the nation state. The aim of the book is to explore the meanings of co-operation and co-operative internationalism in the ICA from the late nineteenth century until the Second World War. The introductory chapter also discusses the historiographical context for the book and briefly discusses the methods and sources on which it is based.

Co-operation in the Nordic countries before 1914: international networks and the transmission of ideas

The chapter introduces the co-operative movement in the Nordic countries (excluding Iceland), summarising the history of co-operation in each country in turn. It asks what were the main influences on the development of co-operation in the Nordic context, and in particular, what was the role of foreign models of co-operation. The Rochdale system of co-operation was a common reference point across the entire region, but it was never the only model for how to organise a co-operative society: co-operators also drew on examples from Germany and Ireland, among others. Particular attention is paid here to the role of Nordic contacts in shaping the development of co-operation and how the personal networks of certain key individuals were gradually replaced by more formal institutional links. The chapter examines similarities and differences across the region and considers the extent to which these supported or undermined the existence of a common co-operative movement.