Suchergebnisse

Cover; Half Title; Series Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: Why Neutrality?; Why Neutrality?; Arguments for Studying Neutrality; What Is Neutrality?; Is There a World History of Neutrality?; Territorial and Maritime Neutrality; Is Neutrality Possible?; Collective Security and Neutrality; Neutrality and International Relations Theory; Remarks to the Reader; Further Reading; 2. Birth of Maritime Neutrality: 1500-1650; Introduction; The Scramble for the Oceans, 1492-1522; Oceanic Claims and the Asian Political Order

Swedish Shipping, Neutrality, and the First League of Armed Neutrality,1780–1783.The purpose of this article is to follow two contradictory perceptions of neutrality in the political discourses of the mid-eighteenth century. One perception drew on the philosophy of natural law and the beneficial view of trade and sociability; here neutrality was perceived as a good and moral basis for peaceful inter-state relations. The second perception derived from the mercantilist view of international trade as an alternative means of warfare; here neutrality was perceived as a shameless exploitation of warfare. It is argued that the concept of neutrality went through an important development in the period between the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence, and that the Danish writer Martin Hübner played an important role in this development. Hübner's view of neutrality, drawing on both discourses, became embodied indirectly in the declaration of the First League of Armed Neutrality in 1780, composed during the American War of Independence. The League was the joint action of three neutral countries, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, intended to stop the British harassment of neutral trade and shipping. When Sweden joined the League, it acknowledged this new concept of neutrality as part of its foreign policy.

In the late eighteenth century, Swedish ships frequently sailed in the Western Mediterranean. They could be found in Marseilles, Livorno, Genoa, Alicante, Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa, as well as in Cadiz and Lisbon outside the Mediterranean. Indeed, the Mediterranean was an area of great importance for Swedish shipping. How was it possible that Sweden - a small country in northern periphery of Europe - could play such a prominent role in carrying trade in Southern Europe? There are a number of plausible explanations but an especially significant factor was the fact that Sweden had peace treaties with North African states. The treaties improved the security of Swedish-flagged vessels, reducing their protection and operation costs, insurance premiums, etc. It was economically reasonable for foreigners to employ Swedish carriers. The topic of this essay is this connection between the establishment of peace relations between Sweden and North African states and the success of the Swedish carrying business in Southern Europe. The issue is approached from the protection-cost perspective (institutional economics) and related to the different concepts of security: state security, economic security and in a certain sense also human security.