Abstract
The significance of the war to the Scandinavian neutrals, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, emerges clearly in this interesting book. Less attention, however, is devoted to the importance of the neutrals to the war, not least due to their significance in terms of trade and thus with reference to blockade and counter-blockade strategies and operations. This is a problem, as that importance drives the situation. Indeed, the neutrals largely emerge as acting in response to the major powers.
Somewhat strangely the obvious comparative element offered by the Second World War is neglected. This is surprising as each conflict throws light on what could have happened in the other, not least with the First World War directly spreading to involve Denmark as did not occur. More positively, there is interest in Jonas’s coverage of a number of topics. As with other powers, and in line with work on the preceding century, royal diplomacy emerges as of some significance, although it was far from crucial. Jonas also devotes a chapter to the Danish intellectual Georg Brandes, who is given justification for his omnipresent cultural pessimism. Another chapter addresses the last stages of the 1915 Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, focusing on Nicholas II’s 1915 visit. Having visited the islands, I was also interested in the chapter on the Aland question in politics and law, although its link to the volume as a whole is weak. The question was largely a post-war one, and indeed a product of the dissolution of the Russian empire due to the Communist revolution.
Less positively, due to the extensive notes, there are only 129 pages of text, and the page and print size further mean that not much is really offered. The individual chapters, while interesting, are eclectic, indeed very much so, and neither the text nor introduction really addresses substantive points about neutrality or small states adequately. And this little for £85.00! The publisher needs to get a grip on the series and its editor.