Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ScanRights (Economic and Social Rights in Scandinavian Diplomacy at the United Nations, 1970-2000)
Reporting period: 2019-09-01 to 2021-08-31
This project, called ScanRights, provides the first examination of economic and social rights in the multilateral diplomacy of the three Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway, and Denmark at the United Nations from 1970 to 2000. Through a transnational approach to multi-national archival research, the project seeks to understand why the Scandinavian countries increased their support for poverty reduction and economic and social rights at a time when egalitarian politics were on the decline elsewhere in the West. It does so through two main research objectives: First, it examines Scandinavian contributions to the debate on The New International Economic Order from 1974 to 1982 (O1). Second, it examines Scandinavian diplomacy on the Right to Development in the 1980s and 1990s (O2). In doing so the project makes three important contributions to the existing scholarship. First, it addresses the neglect of economic and social rights in the history of Scandinavian human rights diplomacy. Second, it adopts a transnational multi-archival approach that goes beyond the national histories. Third, it provides an examination of Scandinavian human rights diplomacy absent in the international scholarship. The project is designed to improve the researcher’s career prospects by broadening his scientific profile, strengthening his teaching and supervision skills, and furthering his professional development through training in transferable skills. It adopts a targeted strategy to disseminate and communicate the research results to different audiences. The implementation is secured through a comprehensive work plan and the strong commitment of the supervisor and host institution, which provides the optimal intellectual infrastructure, specialized in interdisciplinary research on human rights.
The core research activities have been archival research conducted in the national archives in Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen. Archival research at the UN Archives in Geneva was cancelled due to covid-19. I was also a guest research at Stockholm University (February 2020) and Oslo University (March 2020). Over the course of the project, I did six presentations of the project proposal and ongoing research papers at universities in three countries: Lund University (x2), University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University, University of Oslo, and Södertörn University. I also presented two research papers at a conference I co-organized, “Scandinavian Multilateral Diplomacy,” and a seminar I organized, “Nordic Human Rights Histories,” – both of these were virtual events. A couple of other conference/seminars were cancelled due to covid-19.
In the spring of 2020, I taught the course “Human Rights in Foreign Policy” on the MA program in Human Rights Studies at Lund University. I completed the pedagogical course: “Teaching and Learning in Higher Education” (2 weeks full work load).
As part of my professional development, I completed the course “PostDoc Career Success.” I also delivered two career talks for prospective postdocs on how to obtain postdoc funding at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Oslo.
In the spring of 2020, I taught the course “Human Rights in Foreign Policy” on the MA program in Human Rights Studies at Lund University. I completed the pedagogical course: “Teaching and Learning in Higher Education” (2 weeks full work load).
As part of my professional development, I completed the course “PostDoc Career Success.” I also delivered two career talks for prospective postdocs on how to obtain postdoc funding at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Oslo.
The project will result in two scientific peer-reviewed articles in international journals, as promises in the original project proposal. The first is tentatively titled: Scandinavian Diplomacy on Human Rights & Economic Inequality at the United Nations in the 1970s: Between the NIEO and Basic Needs. The second is tentatively titled: Scandinavia and the 1968 International Year for Human Rights. The former will be part of a special issue in the journal Diplomatica. The other will probably be published in a Scandinavian journal. They are both expected to contribute new knowledge of Scandinavian human rights diplomacy.