National Relations: Public Diplomacy, National Identity and the Swedish Institute 1945-1970

In Stockholm in January of 1945, an assembly of Swedish diplomats and businessmen initiated an organization that was to improve the country’s reputation abroad. The new, semi-governmental Swedish Institute was charged with explaining Sweden’s policy of neutrality during the war, with encouraging peace-building, and with promoting foreign trade in the new international world order. Original and insightful, this account analyzes the policies, funding, and national narratives of the Swedish Institute. Providing a historical perspective on the politics of Swedish propaganda and explaining how ideas of communication shaped the Institute’s work and its representations of Sweden, this record also offers a comparative perspective on American national identity and its inherent notions of national exceptionalism.