This article analyses how economic support and social benefits for thalidomide-affected children were negotiated and organized by both public and private actors in 1960s Sweden. Accounts from various archives are used to analyse how two different but coexisting understandings of disability - as a medical and a social problem - both influenced and underpinned not only the rehabilitation of The Swedish programme arranged for the affected children, but also the associated economic support. Contributing to a more nuanced understanding of the formation welfare solutions in the 1960s and to the intersecting research fields of the history of medicine and disability history, this article also advances our knowledge of the concept of normalization and fosters insights into how the Swedish thalidomide scandal contributed to increased economic support for both the thalidomide affected and other groups of disabled children.

A remarkable reform in modern Swedish political history was the transformation of the local government structure between 1952 and 1974. In a mere 22 years, the number of municipalities was reduced from 2,498 to 277. This study aims to answer how such large-scale reforms could come about politically, particularly since much of the literature on institutions and political reform asserts that carrying out large-scale political change should be a difficult task. Two opposing stories of institutional change are presented: evolutionary accounts, which see the amalgamations as rational adaptations to changing circumstances, are contrasted with a social conflict perspective, which explains amalgamations in terms of their distributional consequences. By investigating the processes leading up to this vast restructuring of Swedish local political geography, we demonstrate that an understanding of these reforms as rational adaptations to changing circumstances, made on the basis of consensus among leading political actors, is not accurate. The reforms were not as uncontroversial and non-conflictual as they often have been portrayed. Our results weaken the evolutionary approach to institutional change, whilst supporting the social conflict perspective.

Employing the Foucauldian term ‘conduct’, this article explores how social resilience and morale became a target of state intervention in Denmark during the Cold War. ‘Psychological defence’ was a Cold War phenomenon designed to bring an imagined future war into a space of control as well as a tool for the authorities’ exercise of power in case another world war became a reality. Advocating a methodological internationalism, the article analyses how the concept of psychological defence travelled from Sweden to Denmark via Norway and NATO, and in a complex process of translation, mixing and hybridization was adapted and appropriated to Danish security policy conditions, preparedness culture, and historical experiences. Ultimately, psychological defence was replaced with a more practical or even cynical approach to public information and media preparedness, even if the objectives remained the same. The article employs source material from Danish, Swedish, and NATO archives and combines Scandinavian Cold War history with media history and the history of knowledge.

So far, studies of Swedish 20th-century social policy have emphasized the differences between the voluntary aid common around 1900 and the solidarity of welfare policy at mid-century. Means tests have been described as central instruments in the voluntary social work, while the welfare state was built on general principles of care. The question is, however, if the differences between the earlier and later forms of social policy can be characterized in such simple terms. A comparison has been made of departure points found in the social policies of the two periods. The results confirm that a significantly new way of thinking had taken shape in the years around the Second World War, but the study also shows that that the ideas concerning the welfare state contain threads that can be traced back to the scientific philanthropy of a few years earlier. The idea of social engineering was nothing new, and the idea that rights could be exchanged for duties had still not been deserted in the 1940s. In conclusion it can be said that the welfare state and the welfare politics of solidarity in several respects were built upon the principles of care that were formulated in about 1900.

Morbidity and mortality in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) can be described as an ongoing epidemic, although a very protracted one, lasting more than 100 years. Cardiovascular diseasesstill top mortality rates in the world today, accounting for about 30% of all deaths around the globe. But it is in the industrialized world that CVD dominate, although differences are great among various regions. Myocardial infarctions are significantly more common in Sweden than in southern Europe, but less common than in Eastern Europe. The overall question concerns the consequences for health in areas on the road to a post-industrial society. Over the years a clearer link has become visible between lifestyle and health. In Sweden, infectious diseases diminished as result of rising living standards. At the same time cardiovascular diseases were beginning their upward phase, reaching a peak in the 1960s. Deaths due to CVD bring to light significant discrepancies related to socio-economic and cultural factors. A comparison of the Swedish twin cities Linkoping and Norrkoping show considerable differences in death rates in favour of Linkoping, amounting to about 30% fewer in the 1920s with a tendency toward rising differences thereafter. A preliminary investigation of diagnoses has shown that links commonly made between health and socio-economic patterns need revision. The differences in cardiovascular morbidity show another pattern than was expected. It is obvious that the neighbourhood environments themselves have significance, and that the inequalities need additional research based on complementary explanatory models.

The Swedish youth organization Fältbiologerna was founded in 1947 with the mission to inspire learning about nature through outdoor activities. Since then, the members have stayed true to their slogan ‘keep your boots muddy’ through engaging in bird watching and forest excursions; however, in the late 1960s and early 1970s – a period that environmental historians refer to as the ‘ecological turn’ – the organization’s activities were extended to also include political activism. Fältbiologerna increasingly evolved into a fertile terrain for young environmentalists. In this article, we explore how this Swedish branch of modern environmental youth activism came about. Based on a close reading of the members’ journal, Fältbiologen,between 1959 and 1974, we identify four key characteristics that were communicated in the journal during the years of study: adventurous, knowledgeable, influential, and radical. We demonstrate that Fältbiologerna took an increasingly radical position and began to engage in environmental debates and actions, while still holding on to ideals of learning through spending time in nature. Participation in these different activities shaped the young members into environmentalists.

The aim of this article is to explain the prehistory of the veteran’s home in Sweden. In the 16th century the Swedish army was reorganized and conscripted soldiers became an important part of the army. The conscripted soldiers were peasants, and in 1620 King Gustavus Adolphus reorganized the army so that the peasantry became the major source of soldiers to the army. The system was quite different from others in Europe, most countries having armies based on mercenaries. In 1622, the king started a fund for wounded soldiers and launched a plan for a veteran’s home in the old monastery buildings in Vadstena, which was opened in the years around 1640. The fund and the plans for the veteran’s home can thus be said to have come from the fact that the Swedish king raised his army from the peasants, and this in turn meant that he had a stronger responsibility for them than other kings in Europe. The wounded soldiers therefore became a category of the poor that society thought were qualified for help in 17th-century Sweden.

Since the 1990s, an increasing number of inquiries into the history of children’s out-of-home care have shown that child welfare sometimes failed to protect children. In this Special Issue, we explore how the Nordic countries have responded to allegations and scandals of historical child abuse within child welfare, and also how history matters in these political processes. We ask how Nordic societies have acknowledged past historical child abuse and how they aim to deal with its legacy. Attempts to redress, and provide compensation for, past failures are discussed in the context of transitional justice.

The Swedish Redress Scheme intended for victims of historical child abuse inout-of-home care compensated only 46 % of claimants who sought economic compensation for past harms. This article explores the reasons behind this comparatively low validation rate by investigating a) how the eligibilitycriteria of the Redress Act were evaluated by the Redress Board, and b) the justifications and underlying values used when applications were rejected with reference to that the reported abuse was not deemed to be sufficiently severe according to past standards. Victim capital, which determines how vulnerable or credible a victim is perceived to be by others, as well as competence and narration are essential aspects for this type of legal proceeding. The article demonstrates that the claimants had to traverse a complicated web of criteriato be awarded compensation. The outcomes for claimants were affected by how the past was conceptualised in this legal setting, what competences the victims themselves possessed, what competence and resources the administrative system offered, and to the extent to which the decision-making process fragmented victims’ narratives.

This article examines the complex and non-linear process of democratization in Sweden after the introduction of so-called universal suffrage in 1921. The research questions address the excluded groups post-1921, the reasons for their exclusion, and the historical processes that led to further expansions of suffrage rights. The study shows that the expansion of suffrage rights in Sweden after 1921 was not guided primarily by a desire to broaden voter inclusion and/or rectify the limitations of the1921 legislation. Instead, the motivations were embedded in a more intricate and multifaceted tapestry of political aims and alliances as well as situational factors that included various social, economic, and cultural shifts. The article concludes that the history of suffrage in Sweden after 1921 has been one of continuous negotiations, transformations, and adaptations, and that this provides valuable insights for addressing challenges of political inclusion and representation in the present and future.