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Communism in the Nordic countries, 1917-1990
For a couple of years a number of Nordic historians interested in communism have discussed the possibility of a research project aimed at producing an English-language monogram on communism in the Nordic countries between 1917 and 1990. The project will begin its work in 2002 and conclude in three years, if the application for funding proves successful.
In the historiography of communism it has been usual to study the relations between Moscow and one national communist movement. Comparative studies of multiple national communist movements are rare, although these might shed more light on the character of the international communist movement than a study of the relationship between the movement's centre and a single national component.
The communist movements in the five Nordic countries were not identical — neither were their individual circumstances. The project will study how these different circumstances affected each of these communist movements. The main emphasis will be the differences arising from the political environment. On many occasions a dividing line emerges separating the Scandinavian countries from Finland. Iceland also provides an interesting case.
It is our intention to focus this comparative project around five central themes:
Communism and revolution
Communism and other social and political forces
Communism as a bearer of modernism
Communism as a political camp; and
Relations with the international communist movement
In addition to this, the project will explore the question of whether a distinctively 'Nordic' form of communism developed.
These communist parties were founded in order to forment a revolution. The project will scrutinise the kind of strategies Nordic communists had for winning power. This question will be examined through a study of the activities of the Nordic communist movements, and not judged from their 'programmatical' documents. The study will also examine communist attitudes towards various reforms.
The project will also study what the Nordic communists did in order to weaken the legitimacy of the prevailing society. The relation between the institutions of the existing system, on the one hand, and the extra-parliamentary activities and the alternatives bodies and institutions created by the communists, on the other, will be discussed.
In order to realise their goal of revolution communists had to win support for their ideas. The project will explore the ways in which the Nordic communists believed they would be able to secure the support of the working class and how they tried to achieve influence among other strata of their society — the peasantry, intellectuals and minorities. Because of the differences in their approach to the issue, the relationship of the various Nordic communist parties to social democrats and social democracy is one of the important questions the study will address. Communism's status as an 'enemy image' will also be explored.
Communism's revolutionary ambitions were not restricted to the conquest of political power, but involved wider social and cultural questions of beliefs and behaviour. The project will touch upon these questions as part of its exploration of the theme 'communism as a bearer of modernism', studying its relation to modern art, ideas of educational reform, women's liberation, sexual liberation and sexual education, psychoanalysis, jazz, etc.
Under the theme of 'communism as a political camp' the project will explore questions concerning the creation of communist identities, examine the numerical strength of these movements in terms of membership and levels of electoral support, and study other issues including organization, internal disputes, economics, etc. Questions of gender will also be explored.
The project is led by Professor Åsmund Egge from the University of Oslo, with the help of an editorial board on which each of the five Nordic countries has a representative. They and the other participants in the study will work in two-three groups examining the periods before and after the Second World War. The working methods of the project include regular meetings and contacts through e-mail. For more information, contact: asmund.egge@hi.uio.no.
