Essays

Essays are selected scholarly articles published without prior peer-review process.

A twin city divided during Corona A story of unintended geopolitics

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of state territorial regulations and restrictions against the spread of Covid-19 on the life of the population of the twin cities of Tornio and Haparanda, on the border between Finland and Sweden. To the inhabitants, the pandemic restrictions meant an oscillating “life world” of opportunities and containments, affecting them differently, often depending on decisions taken by distant authorities and for reasons irrelevant to the local borderland.

Essay by Thomas Lundén January 18, 2023

“There are more lights in the windows” Challenges and opportunities for island societies in Sweden during the Covid-19 pandemic

With more than 260 000 islands, Sweden is one of the countries with most islands in the world. Its islands are located along the coasts and in the larger lakes. For the municipalities and regions where they are located, the islands are places for recreation and symbols in tourism marketing. A rough overview over the impact of the pandemic on rural and remote areas indicates that Swedish tourism in 2020 and 2021 mainly consisted of “staycations” and that Swedish countryside attracted many people. However, our knowledge about the impact of Covid-19 on everyday life on islands, and on livelihoods and the tourism industry on islands, is still scarce. This article therefore answers the following questions: How has the pandemic influenced island communities, local livelihoods, and the tourism industry on islands?

Essay by Paulina Rytkönen, Marcus Box, Tommy Larsson Segerlind. Youssouf Merouani January 18, 2023

Theme: St. Petersburg in the 1990s. A window in time Introduction. St. Petersburg -- intangible heritage of the 1990s. Archiving work in progress

One cannot go back in time and cannot experience it as it was. Yet this collection of memoirs is an attempt at the restoration of the immaterial culture of the 1990s in St. Petersburg. It was written with the awareness of the integrated failure of the project by all its participants.

Essay by Anna Kharkina January 18, 2023

Chernobyl as a post-Soviet memory space How ideas of progress and fear shaped a nuclear heritage site

What Chernobyl means to different people has dramatically changed over time. Today, its image mostly invokes fear of radiation, illness, as well as uncertainty. The ruins of the plant are regarded as a somewhat unpredictable source of danger that needs constant attention and monitoring. This is a remarkable historical change from how Chernobyl used to be seen. Before 1986, the construction of Ukraine’s first major nuclear power plant symbolized progress and the hope for a better future. In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and recent media coverage of nuclear energy in this context, Chernobyl has truly become a memory space, serving as a place for projections of a multitude of attitudes regarding nuclear safety, catastrophe, war, maintenance and negligence.

Essay by Achim Klüppelberg January 18, 2023

Why neutrality is dangerous for Ukraine’s statehood And why Ukraine may have to seek security agreements outside NATO

In this essay it is argued that membership of a military alliance with clear security guarantees is a fundamental factor for safeguarding Ukraine’s statehood. The neutrality solution advocated for Ukraine by the so-called “realists” in both academic and political environments does not apply to the Ukrainian-Russian war. Realist readings, as the author demonstrates in the essay, are problematic and cannot explain the fully complex nature of the conflict. On the other hand, an insight into Russia’s imperial identity provides a more convincing outlook of the situation.

Essay by Dzmitry Pravatorau January 18, 2023

Dehumanizing the Hate speech directed at Ukrainians in Russian media

The impact of negative rhetoric towards Ukraine, the United States and European countries are the constant ingredients in the “menu” of Russian state media resources, not to mention blogs and social networks. Previous examples such as Rwanda and Srebrenica have shown how words of hatred lead to acts of hatred, with yesterday’s civilians being ready to kill their dehumanized neighbors. Unfortunately, one now can add to this list of examples Ukraine. Hate speech towards Ukraine began to gain momentum since 2014, after the “Revolution of Dignity” took place and the country was taking a political course towards European integration.

Essay by Yuliya Krylova-Grek January 18, 2023

Cancelling Russia The situation for Russian speakers in Latvia following the invasion of Ukraine

Many who grew up speaking Russian in independent Latvia do not associate themselves with Russia or what one could call the Russian world, nor the values and aggressions carried out in Ukraine in the Russian language. A recent survey shows that the Russian speaking residents aged 18 to 34 years were more likely to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yet, many Russian speakers in Latvia are experiencing an emotional crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has securitized already divisive issues in the country, such as historical memory and access to media in one’s preferred language.

Essay by Emma Rönngren January 18, 2023

The Violent State Fear and protest in Russia

The modern Russian state is built on random and unpredictable institutionalized violence, on fear and pain. Therefore, one of the most common reactions to the power abuse from the Russian government is to ignore the state and try to build your own little life.

Essay by Elena Palenova January 18, 2023

Belarus – where society is deprived of power but not agency

"I was terrified and scared but more than ever before I felt that I am a Belarusian and I could not stay home. I can’t say that I felt exactly like a soldier preparing to die while protecting the Homeland, but a similar feeling overwhelmed me then." These are the words of one of the female protestors who took part in a street demonstration in Minsk on February 27, 2022. According to different estimates, between 1,000 and several thousand Belarusians came out to protest against the start of the war in Ukraine and against the referendum on constitutional change in Belarus.

Essay by Alesia Rudnik January 18, 2023

The rise of the Swedish welfare state Introducing modern food practices into the modern food system

This article highlights the development of modern food practices and food regulations in Sweden with special emphasis on food safety and food security from the late 19th century to 1950s. The results are linked to the wider discussion about modernization and societal change in Sweden and includes industrial organization in the agro-food sector, technological development, and the reality experienced by the population during decades that were heavily influenced by the consequences of two world wars and the rise of the welfare state.

Essay by Paulina Rytkönen June 22, 2022
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. ...
  13. 17