Project description
The influence of transnational adoption in Nordic diplomacy
Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the RKD project reframes transnational adoption as a form of ‘intimate diplomacy’, linking family-making to international relations and tensions. Focusing on Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1960–2000), RKD examines how adoptees, families, NGOs and state actors became entangled in humanitarian governance, foreign policy and racialised narratives. Combining archival research, legal analysis and oral histories, RKD connects lived experiences with international law. It explores how transnational adoption is not only a private family matter but is also deeply immersed in complex global power dynamics. Amid ongoing state inquiries into adoption abuses, the project challenges Nordic exceptionalism and provides historically grounded insights to inform policy debates and strengthen transparency and accountability in human rights governance.
Objective
Race, Kinship, and Diplomacy (RKD) examines how transnational adoption shaped – and was shaped by – Scandinavian diplomacy, foreign policy, and human rights discourse between 1960 and 2000. Adoption is often treated as a private family matter, but this project reframes it as a politically charged practice connecting intimate relationships to global power dynamics.
Focusing on Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, RKD explores how adoption became entangled with Nordic humanitarian self-images, moral diplomacy, and soft power. It introduces the innovative concept of “intimate diplomacy,” expanding diplomatic history to include adoptees, families, NGOs, and emotional and racialised narratives. By combining archival research, legal and discourse analysis, and oral histories, the project bridges micro-level lived experiences with macro-level foreign policy and international law. RKD has three main aims: (1) to identify the diplomatic and political implications of Scandinavian adoption practices, (2) to challenge idealised narratives of Nordic exceptionalism by revealing tensions between humanitarian ideals and legal accountability, and (3) to generate policy-relevant insights for contemporary debates on transparency, redress, and human rights.
The project is timely, responding to recent national inquiries in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden that have uncovered systemic irregularities and abuses in adoption practices. By providing historical depth and empirical evidence, RKD will produce high-impact outputs including peer-reviewed articles, a digital exhibition, and a curated oral history collection. Hosted at the University of Oslo under the supervision of Professor Hanne Hagtvedt Vik, RKD will strengthen the researcher’s interdisciplinary expertise through advanced methodological training and collaboration. It will generate new knowledge with lasting academic, societal, and policy impact, while informing ongoing reforms in adoption governance.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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0313 Oslo
Norway
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