‘Mental map’ is a term referring to the way people orientate themselves in their spatial surroundings and how they perceive the world. Alongside ‘cognitive map’, its approximate synonym, the concept of a mental map is established in geography, the behavioral sciences, and psychology. Over the past two decades the idea of mental maps has been adopted by historians in analyzing the construction and dissolution of historical regions, the world views of political elites, and patterns of dominance and subalternity. Despite the resonance the concept of mental maps has had in several disciplines, an international multi-disciplinary conversation on mental maps with an emphasis on cultural patterns is still in its earliest stages. The present special journal issue addresses this situation by bringing together scholars from the fields of history, geography, economics, anthropology, and linguistics, and by using a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods. The idea of this themed issue emerged at a workshop entitled “Mental Mapping – Historical and Social Science Perspectives”, held 12–13 November 2015 at the Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University, and the Italian Cultural Institute “C.M. Lerici” in Stockholm. The workshop was arranged by the research project Spaces of Expectation: Mental Mapping and Historical Imagination in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Region, a joint venture between Södertörn University and Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.

Little empirical research has considered the way in which macro-regions are perceived outside academic and political circles. Such studies alone can determine what regional narratives mean for the wider public, and the extent to which they coincide with region-building images produced by elites. This article examines the mental maps of high school seniors in 10 cities in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean regions, focusing upon their perception and knowledge of other countries in those areas. Despite efforts at region building since the Cold War, the two regions remain divided on mental maps. Students have little knowledge of countries across the sea from their own, although such knowledge is generally greater among those from coastal (and particularly island) locations. A comparison with maps constructed by Gould in 1966 reveals that the perception of countries within one's own region among Italian and Swedish students has become more negative over the last 50 years.

Gotland, Åland, Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Bornholm are five island regions in the Baltic Sea which constitute, or have until recently constituted, provinces or counties of their own. Combining perspectives from two disparate academic fields, uses of history and island studies, this book investigates how regional history writing has contributed to the formation of regional identity on these islands since the year 1800. The special geographic situation of the islands-somewhat secluded from the mainland but also connected to important waterways-has provided their inhabitants with shared historical experiences. Due to varying geographic and historical circumstances, the relationship between regional and national identity is however different on each island. While regional history writing has in most cases aimed at integrating the island into the nation state, it has on Åland in the second half of the 20th century been used to portray its inhabitants as a separate nation. Dramatic political upheavals as the World Wars has also caused shifts in how regional history writing has represented the relationship to the mainland nation state, and has sometimes also resulted in altered national loyalties.

Gotland, Åland, Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Bornholm are five islands in the Baltic Sea which constitute, or have until recently constituted, provinces or counties. Combining perspectives from the fields of island studies and history, this article investigates how regional history writing has contributed to the formation of regional identity on each island since the year 1800. The special geographic situation of the islands somewhat secluded from the mainland but also connected to important waterways has provided their inhabitants with shared historical experiences. Due to varying geographic and historical circumstances, the relationship between regional and national identity is however different on each island. While regional history writing has often aimed at integrating the island into the nation state, it has on Åland in the 20th century been used to portray its inhabitants as a separate nation.