Liquid Neutrality: Finnish, Swedish and Swiss economic diplomacy towards OPEC from the oil shock to the oil glut (1973-1986) (LINE)
Table of contents
Project description
This transnational project studies the economic diplomacy of Finland, Sweden and Switzerland towards the rise of the main oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from the oil crisis (1973) to the oil glut (1986). Our hypothesis is that unlike the big Western powers, who could use their military clout as an entry to the markets, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland "weaponized" neutrality as a political economic resource.
We draw upon “new diplomatic history” that considers that there is no clear-cut separation between the “state” and “society”. Our methodological point of departure is grounded in Historical Social Network Analysis (HSNA) which holds that social action is interdependent and these interdependencies form channels of information that in turn shape the policies taken.
Our source material consists of embassy, trade, finance and foreign ministry records; records of business associations, including chambers of commerce and records of private companies.
Research Council of Finland with a multiyear funding.
Publications
No results.
Upcoming:
Nordic History Conference (NHM), Reykjavík, Iceland, August 13-15 2025.
Thematic Session: “Liquid Neutrality: The 1970s Energy Crisis, Cold War Middle East and the Foreign Economic Policies of European Neutrals”
Chair: Prof. Antero Holmila, Ģֱ, Finland
Discussant(s) TBA
Amir Abdelamir, Ģֱ, Finland: ”Petrodollars and Foreign Expertise: Microhistories of Finnish Professionals in Iraq in the 1970s and 1980s”
Dr. Carl Marklund, Swedish Defence Research Institute / Ģֱ, Finland: “The oil trips: Swedish economic diplomacy and stockpiling policy in the wake of the oil crisis”
Dr. Samuel Beroud, Reagan Foundation, USA / Ģֱ, Finland: “A multifaceted neutrality: Switzerland’s attitude towards belligerent countries in the Middle East, 1973-1988”
Dr. Laura Ipatti University of Turku / Ģֱ, Finland & Prof. Antero Holmila, Ģֱ, Finland: “Neutrality, Commercial Diplomacy, and the Expansion of Trade in the Global South: The Case of “Find Finland” Campaign in Saudi Arabia in 1975”
Past:
Amir Abdelamir, Ģֱ, Finland: "" Työväen historian ja perinteen tutkimuksen kesäseminaari - 19.8.2024. (THPTS)
Amir Abdelamir, Ģֱ, Finland: "Petrodollars and Foreign Expertise: Microhistories of Finnish Professionals in Iraq in the 1970s and 1980s" 9th International Symposium of the Finnish Oral History Network,
(FOHN 2024) – Memory in Movement: Pace, Connection & Introspection
Carl Marklund, ",” Koper, 19–20 September 2024.
Carl Marklund, "Swedish Cultural Policy during the Era of Decolonization", Paper for “Cultural Affairs in (Post)Colonial Contexts 1945-1975: European Cultural Policy Between Relationship Building, Civilizing Mission, and Peacekeeping,” Vinery Wasem, Ingelheim, 23-25 September 2024.
