Humanitært arbeid har vært en sentral del av det nordiske internasjonale arbeidet siden begynnelsen av 1900-tallet. Det har utviklet seg fra individuelle initiativer til institusjonalisert og myndighetsdrevet arbeid. Det nordiske humanitære arbeidet er internasjonalt anerkjent, og utviklingen reflekterer både kontinuitet og strategisk tilpasning. Etter den kalde krigen tok slutt tilpasset det nordiske humanitære arbeidet seg nye geopolitiske forhold, mens ‘humanitære intervensjoner’ på steder som Somalia og Kosovo utfordret tradisjonelle nordiske prinsipper om fred og nøytralitet. På 2000-tallet står nordisk humanitært arbeid overfor utfordringer som langvarige konflikter, politisering av bistand og stadig mer ekstreme hendelser knyttet til vær. De nordiske landene fortsetter å opprettholde sitt rykte som humanitære ledere, både gjennom nasjonal politikk og gjennom organisasjoner i sivilsamfunnet, selv om arbeidet også møter kritikk.

This memoir is the story of Lucie Widl (1930–2023), born in Vienna and, due to her Jewish background, sent to the United Kingdom as a child refugee following the Nazi annexation of Austria. She recounts her childhood, her experiences with the Kindertransport refugee scheme in Scotland, her post-war years with vocational training in London and travels across Europe and North Africa, and her eventual settlement in Sweden. There she started a family and came into close contact with the medical facilities of the welfare state. With its keen observations, trenchant commentary, dry humor, and hopeful aspirations, Lucie Widl’s firsthand account vividly brings history to life.

This publication includes additional research, annotations, and an introduction by Norbert Götz, professor at the Institute of Contemporary History at Södertörn University. 

The history of humanitarian efforts in times of famine and other emergencies has become a vibrant field of academic study, but there have been few attempts to delineate chronological patterns. This chapter seeks to contribute to a discussion by emphasizing societal factors (including culture, media structures, and economics) to a greater extent than research has hitherto. It illustrates its argument with three cases of famine relief in different periods, geographical locations, and political circumstances: the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s, the famine in Soviet Russia in 1921–1923, and the famine in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s. Through these examples, this research takes a fresh look at humanitarian appeals, the allocation of relief, and aid accounts through the concept of moral economy. This chapter identifies three distinct phases of humanitarian action, which are termed ad-hoc humanitarianism, organized humanitarianism, and expressive humanitarianism.

Humanitarianism has been a defining feature of Nordic international engagement since the beginning of the 20th century. Its evolution from individual initiatives to a state-led, institutionalised, and globally recognised tradition reflects both continuity and strategic adaptation. After the end of the Cold War, Nordic humanitarianism adjusted to new geopolitical conditions, while ‘humanitarian interventions’ in places like Somalia and Kosovo challenged traditional Nordic principles of peace and neutrality. Nordic humanitarianism in the 21st century is confronted with challenges such as protracted conflicts, politicisation of aid and increasingly extreme weather events. The Nordic countries continue to uphold their reputation as humanitarian leaders, both through national policies and civil society organisations although not without critique.

The Nigerian Civil War, spanning from 1967 to 1970, garnered signifcant global attention, especially due to the media's portrayal of suffering children in the seceding region of Biafra and the subsequent humanitarian response.

This booklet chronicles a seminar where journalists from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, who reported from Biafra, shared their experiences and perspectives on the confict and the humanitarian efforts aimed at alleviating the famine. The discussions captured in this document provide valuable insights into Nordic humanitarianism and its ethical dimensions, with relevance for contemporary global aid initiatives and the involvement of Nordic countries in international humanitarian cooperation.

Context, variety and genealogy are among the contributions historical studies generally make to populism research. This chapter argues that there is another, as yet almost untapped, resource in historical approaches, namely a theory of moral economy that, when stripped of normative presumptions and idiographic limitations, can improve our understanding of populist moments and movements in the past - as well as in the present. This chapter fathoms what historical perspectives have on offer for populism research, enhancing knowledge into social, cultural, economic and political circumstances with the benefit of hindsight. It illustrates this by providing a chronological overview of key populist movements over the past two centuries. It does so from a moral economy perspective that correlates populism with notions of social justice, as well as with a perceived lack of acknowledgement and violation of entitlements.

This article highlights the shift from “organized humanitarianism” to “expressive humanitarianism”, characterized by the increasing influence of four key elements: media, voluntary organizations, witness accounts, and the role of spectacle and celebrities. This research offers valuable empirical context for the transformation of humanitarianism around 1970.

The present article presents a more detailed picture of the circumstances leading to the formation of the British Relief Association, the major humanitarian effort during the Great Irish Famine, than known hitherto. In particular, it delineates the following: (1) the crucial role of a two-man deputation from the town of Skibbereen, near the south-western coast of Ireland, consisting of protestant ministers Richard B. Townsend and Charles Caulfield, whose activities have hitherto gone unrecognised; (2) the control and manipulation of voluntary relief efforts by British government officials; and (3) the ways in which Baron Lionel Rothschild’s role was deliberately minimised, both by himself and in published records.