Book reviews

Robert Rinehart (ed.), Finland and the United States. Diplomatic Relations Through Seventy Years (Washington DC: 1993). Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, 141 pp. ISBN 0–934742–63–4. USD 12.00.

Karl Molin, Omstridd neutralitet. Experternas kritik av svensk utrikespolitik 1948–1950 (Disputed neutrality. The experts’ criticism of Swedish foreign policy, 1948— 1950). (Stockholm: Tiden, 1991). 109 pp. ISBN 91–550–3808–5. SKR 150.00

Anders Berge, Flyktingpolitik i stormakts skugga. Sverige og de sovjetryska flyktingarna under andra världskriget (Refugee policies in the shadow of a great power. Sweden and the Soviet Russian refugees during World War II). Uppsala Multiethnic Papers 26. (Centre for Multiethnic Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 1992). III pp. ISBN 91–86624–07–5.

Már Jónsson, Blóoskömm á Íslandi 1270–1870 (Incest in Iceland, 1270–1870). (Reykjavík: Háskóli Íslands, Háskólaútgáfan, 1993). 311 pp. ISBN 9979–54–048–6.

Michael Bregnsbo, Gejstlighedens syn på sam fund og ?vrigked 1775–1800, belyst ved trykte pradikener og taler (The attitudes of the clergy to society and authorities 1775–1800, revealed by printed sermons and speeches). (Copenhagen: Den danske historiske Forening, 1992). 160+124 pp. ISBN 87–87462–31–1.

Pentti Laasonen &; Johannes Wallmann (eds), Der Pietismus in seiner europäischen und aussereuropäischen Ausstrahlung (Pietism in its European and extra‐european radiation) Suomen kirkkohistoriallisen seuran, toimituksia 157/ Veröffentlichungen der finnischen Gesellschaft für Kirchengeschichte, 157 (Helsinki, 1992). 240 pp. ISBN 951–9021–87–6.

Ole Feldbaek (ed.), Dansk Identitetshistorie (History of the Danish national identity), vols 1–4. (Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel, 1991–92) 424 pp., 468 pp., 673 pp., 589 pp. ISBN 87–7421–696–1, DKR 1400 (all volumes). Summaries in English in vol. 4.

Conny Blom, Tiggare, tidstjuvar, lättingar och landstiykare. Studier αν attityder och vär‐deringar i skrån, stadgar,, ordningar och lagförslag gällande den of fentlia vården 1533–1664. (Lund: Lund University Press, 1992.) 271 pp.     

Reviews

Dansk socialhistorie 1‐7 (A social history of Denmark 1—7). København, (1979–82). ISBN 87–01–82331–0. Vol. 1: Jørgen Jensen, Oldtidens samfund. Tiden indtil år 800 (Prehistoric society, before 800 AD) 271 pp. Vol. 2: Niels Lund and Kai Hørby, Samfundet i vikingetid og middelalder 800–1500 (Society in the viking and middle ages 800–1500) 322 pp. Vol. 3: Ladewig Petersen, Fra standssamfund til rangssamfund 1500–1700 (From classes to ranks, 1500–1700). 447 pp. Vol. 4: Hans Chr. Johansen, En samfundsorganisation i opbrud 1700–1870 (A society on the move 1700–1780) 333 pp. Vol. 5: Vagn Dybdahl, Det nye samfund på vej 1871–1913 (The new society in the making 1871–1913) 310 pp. Vol. 6: Svend Aage Hansen and Ingrid Henriksen, Sociale brydninger 1914–39 (Social conflicts 1914–39) 424 pp. Vol. 7: Svend Aage Hansen and Ingrid Henriksen, Velfærdsstaten 1940–78 (The welfare state 1940–78) 399 pp. Register, ved Annegrete Dybdahl (Indices) 106 pp.

Fenger, Ole, Gammeldansk ret. Dansk rets historie i oldtid og middelalder (Old Danish law. The history of prehistoric and medieval Danish law). Århus, (1983). ISBN 87–583–0172–0. 156 pp.

Petersson, Birgit, Den farliga underklassen. Studier i fattigdom och brottslighet i 1800‐tale ts Sverige (The dangerous classes. Studies in poverty and crime in 19th century Sweden). Acta Universitatis Umensis. Umeå Studies in the Humanities 53. Umeå, (1983). ISBN 91–7174–133‐X. 306 pp. English summary.

Brändström, Anders, "De kärlekslösa mödrarna.” Spädbamsdödligheten i Sverige under 1800‐talet med särskild hänsyn till Nedertornea ("The loveless mothers.” Infant mortality in Sweden during the 19th century with special attention to the parish of Nedertorneå). Acta Universitatis Umensis. Umeå Studies in the Humanities 62. Umeå, (1984). ISBN 91–7174–162–3. ix+271 pp. English summary.

Hinkkanen‐Lievoncn, Merja‐Liisa, Britisk Trade and Enterprise in the Baltic States 1919–1925. Studia Historka, 14. Helsinki, (1984). ISBN 951–9254–54–4. 312 pp.

Kero, Reino, Neuvosto‐Karjalaa rakentamassa. Pohjois‐Amerikan suomalaiset tekniikan tuojina 1930‐luvun Neuuosto‐Karjalassa (Building Soviet Karelia. North American Finns as the introducers of new techniques to Soviet Karelia during the 1930's). Historiallisia tutkimuksia 122. (Helsinki, 1983). ISBN 951–92544–44–7. 231 pp. English summary.

Ekholm, Curt, Balt‐ och tyskutlämningen 1945–46. Omståndigheter kring interneringen i läger i Sverige och utlämningen till Sovjetunionen av f.d. tyska krigsdeltagare (The deportation of Baltic and German military internees in 1945–46. Circumstances concerning the internment in camps in Sweden and the deportation of former German soldiers to the Soviet Union).

Part 1. Ankomsten och interneringen (The arrival and the internment). Studia historica upsaliensia 136. (Uppsala, 1984). ISBN 91–554–1533–4. 220 pp. English summary.

Part 2. Utlämningen och efterspelet (The deportation and the sequel). Studia historica Upsaliensia 137. (Uppsala, 1984). ISBN 91–554–1534–2. 440 pp. English summary.     

Climate triggers: Rainfall anomalies,vulnerability and communal conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa

The mounting evidence for climate change has put the security implications of increased climate variability high on the agenda of policymakers. However, several years of research have produced no consensus regarding whether climate variability increases the risk of armed conflict. Many have suggested that instead of outright civil war, climate variability is likely to heighten the risk of communal conflict. In particular, erratic rainfall, which reduces the availability of water and arable land, could create incentives for violent attacks against other communities to secure access to scarce resources. Yet, whether groups resort to violence in the face of environmentally induced hardship is likely to depend on the availability of alternative coping mechanisms, for example through market transfers or state accommodation. This suggests that the effect of rainfall anomalies on communal conflict will be stronger in the presence of economic and political marginalization. We evaluate these arguments statistically, utilizing a disaggregated dataset combining rainfall data with geo-referenced events data on the occurrence of communal conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa between 1990 and 2008. Our results suggest that large negative deviations in rainfall from the historical norm are associated with a higher risk of communal conflict. There is some evidence that the effect of rainfall shortages on the risk of communal conflict is amplified in regions inhabited by politically excluded ethno-political groups.     

How Constitutional Concerns Framed the US Contribution to the International Human Rights Regime From Its Inception, 1947–53

The United States has been reluctant to agree to binding international human rights instruments ever since the very first meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1947. This article explores structural causes for that reluctance. Internal government papers show that US government officers worried that a human rights treaty might expand federal jurisdiction at the expense of the jurisdiction of the United States' constituent states and could provide an opening for judicial activism by the courts. These concerns made domestic political sensitivities more acute and raised principled questions about the desirability of pushing domestic reforms through international law-making. US representatives made repeated efforts to ensure that an international bill of rights was drafted as an aspirational declaration rather than a legally binding treaty. They also proposed clauses designed to delay or limit the domestic effects of any agreement, while reassuring the US Senate that domestic power balances would not be disturbed. Constitutional concerns thus framed the United States' contribution to the creation of an international human rights system from the very beginning.     

The Planking Clamp from Tårnby: a Medieval Danish Boatbuilding Tool

At the bottom of a well on a medieval farm on the Danish island of Amager, archaeologists found a planking clamp dated by dendrochronology to 1405 AD. ¹ The clamp is of great importance: very few examples have been found or recognised in Northern Europe to date, and this is the best preserved, and thus provides data about its shape and use; and the size of boat it was used in the construction of. It is discussed whether the clamp was used exclusively for boatbuilding or whether it might also have been used in other crafts. It is suggested that copies of the Tårnby planking clamp might be used in future experimental boatbuilding projects.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

UNDERSTANDING TRADITIONALIST OPPOSITION TO MODERNIZATION: NARRATIVE PRODUCTION IN A NORWEGIAN MOUNTAIN CONFLICT

In Gausdal, a mountainous community in southern Norway, a conflict involving dogsledding has dominated local politics during the past two decades. In order to understand local protests against this activity, in this article we apply discourse analysis within the evolving approach of political ecology. In this way, we also aim at contributing to the emerging trend of bringing political ecology “home”. To many people, dogsledding appears as an environmentally friendly outdoor recreation activity as well as a type of adventure tourism that may provide new income opportunities to marginal agricultural communities. Hence, at a first glance, the protests against this activity may be puzzling. Looking for explanations for these protests, this empirical study demonstrates how the opposition to dogsledding may be understood as grounded in four elements of a narrative: (1) environmental values are threatened; (2) traditional economic activities are threatened; (3) outsiders take over the mountain; and (4) local people are powerless. Furthermore, we argue that the narrative is part of what we see as a broader Norwegian “rural traditionalist discourse”. This discourse is related to a continued marginalization of rural communities caused by increasing pressure on agriculture to improve its efficiency as well as an “environmentalization” of rural affairs. Thus, the empirical study shows how opposition to dogsledding in a local community is articulated as a narrative that fits into a more general pattern of opposition to rural modernization in Norway as well as internationally.