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International politics: Scandinavian Identity Amidst American Hegemony?

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Author

Summary, in English

International politics is often portrayed as a hegemonic discipline, dominated by US scholarship. Exploring the consequences of recent upheavals in world affairs for international politics research, the article suggests that the end of the cold war has exposed certain weaknesses in the US center which may be turned into advantages for the Scandinavian periphery. Specifically, Scandinavian researchers do not share the American preoccupation with theories predicated on bilateral and symmetrical relationships. Moreover, they are more prone to focus on subnational actors, they are more embedded in political science, they are generalists rather than specialist, their primary role is that of observers rather than advisers, and they are in a better position to escape from the entrapment of an ahistorical current-events approach. In conclusion, foreign policy analysis, negotiation studies, and research on international cooperation are singled out as areas where Scandinavians have been successful and where relative success can be accounted for, at least in part, by an ability to capitalize on the comparative advantages identified.

Publishing year

1993

Language

English

Pages

149-165

Publication/Series

Scandinavian Political Studies

Volume

16

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Political Science

Keywords

  • Internationell politik

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1467-9477