Scandinavians on the world stage: Rethinking Scandinavian international involvement since the interwar period

This article supplements dominant interpretative frameworks in historical International Relations (IR) and contemporary history by rethinking the history of Scandinavian IR. Unpacking three interrelated perspectives—highlighting less obvious Scandinavian roles in international politics, governance, and business since the interwar period—we nuance the typical realist-constructivist paradigms found in existing literature. These often lead to stereotypical portrayals of Scandinavian actors as peace-loving, bridge-building, norm-entrepreneurial small states. We argue for a different understanding by situating Scandinavian international interactions within transnational contexts and examining a broader range of actors and influences beyond the nation-state. We advocate moving beyond state-centric accounts to include diverse actors and arenas in analyses of Nordic IR, reflecting recent historiographical shifts and the transnational and global turn in international history. Inspired by new diplomatic history, we expand the focus beyond state actors to include boundary-spanning diplomatic practices. Drawing on global and transnational history, we reassess the structuring power of international orders—imperial liberal, Cold War, and post–Cold War—by empirically tracing the specific roles Scandinavians were given or assumed, and how these shaped what became mythologized as a particular kind of internationalism. These perspectives are especially relevant as Scandinavian countries again calibrate their place on the world stage.