Description
This book explores the history of Nordic human rights politics and practices from the 1930s to present day. The authors use previously unexplored archival materials to bring to light how a broad range of Nordic actors have engaged with international human rights globally and at a European level and how these norms have been taken up and interpreted in the region.
Do the Nordic countries warrant the label ‘global good Samaritans’ in human rights promotion? Is the Nordic welfare state a close to perfect realisation of human rights norms? Or do Nordic international and domestic human rights policies constitute a peculiar ‘Nordic human rights paradox’ where norms are supported internationally while not being implemented at home? Are the ideals of the national welfare state and universal human rights compatible? In this book, the authors take issue with previous scholarship and argue for the need for careful historical investigations into how a broad range of Nordic actors have contributed to creating international human rights. This history is much more varied than what was previously assumed. The lack of prior interest in the region means there are several promising avenues for historical investigations of both the Nordic countries in human rights history and the role of human rights in the history of the region.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Nordic Journal of Human Rights.
Table of Contents
1. Histories of Human Rights in the Nordic Countries
Hanne Hagtvedt Vik, Steven LB Jensen, Linde Lindkvist and Johan Strang
2. Scandinavian Legal Realism and Human Rights: Axel Hägerström, Alf Ross and the Persistent Attack on Natural Law
Johan Strang
3. Human Rights in Interwar Finland
Ainur Elmgren
4. From Global Ambition to Local Reality: Initiatives for the Dissemination of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Norway, 1948–1952
Kjersti Brathagen
5. Evolving Internationalism: Denmark and Human Rights Politics, 1948–1968
Steven LB Jensen
6. International Arenas and Domestic Institution Formation: The Impact of the UN Women’s Conferences in Denmark, 1975–1985
Kristine Kjærsgaard
7. Rights for the World’s Children: Rädda Barnen and the Making of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Linde Lindkvist
8. Deploying the Engagement Policy: The Significance of Legal Dualism in Norway’s Support for Human Rights Treaties from the late 1970s
Hanne Hagtvedt Vik and Skage Alexander Østberg
