Sweden and the Origins of Global Resource Colonialism : Exploring a Neutral Country's Natural Resource Interests in Africa, Caucasia and the Arctic

• The quest for the world's remaining natural resources has intensified markedly in recent years. A salient and controversial point of debate in this context has become the extent to and ways in which old colonial relations are argued to live on in a new global “resource colonialism”. Although Sweden is rarely thought of as a colonial power, Swedish actors are currently very active when it comes to resource exploitation in many parts of the world. As a small, neutral country with an excellent international reputation and virtually without enemies, we argue that Sweden has been able to mobilize the international resource system to its benefit much more effectively than many other European countries. This paper takes an historical perspective on the present by exploring the origins of Swedish interests and activities in the colonial resource arena from around 1880 to 1945. More precisely, we analyze and compare Swedish natural resource interests in three colonial arenas: Africa, Caucasia and the Arctic. In the case of Africa, we explore Sweden's virtually unknown - but highly active - participation at the Berlin conference in 1884-85. In the Caucasus case, we reinterpret the Nobel brothers crucial role in creating Baku's oil industry as a salient example of Swedish involvement in Russian resource colonialism. In the Arctic, we explore the connections between state and private interests in coal mining in Spitsbergen. An essential research issue concerns the extent to which it is possible to discern a common Swedish 'style' with regard to the country's interests and activities in colonial areas.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Teknikhistoria (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- History of Technology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

colonialism

Sweden

Arctic

Caucasia

Africa

geopolitics

natural resources

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)