Neutrala kontakter i Europas periferi: diplomatiska förbindelser mellan Sverige och Spanien under 1930-talet
Denna studie syftar till att få mer kunskap om en underbeforskad del i den svenska och spanska historiografin – det vill säga de politiska och diplomatiska relationerna mellan Sverige och Spanien under 1930-talet. Undersökningen är baserad på många primärkällor från både svenska och spanska arkiv, främst diplomatrapporter. Studien visar både den positiva bilden av Sverige som förmedlade av spanska diplomater på 1930-talet som kontrasterades av den mer negativa bilden som svenska diplomater hade av den spanska republiken. Studien visar också på förekomsten av en rad olika nära politiska och diplomatiska kontakter som bland annat inramades genom samarbetet mellan de så kallade neutrala länderna i Nationernas förbund – som ledde till de gemensamma deklarationerna 1934 och 1936.
Studien behandlar även Sveriges förbindelser med det delade Spanien under inbördeskriget och svensk intervention i kriget både humanitärt och militärt. Studien bekräftar även att Sverige visade en oöverträffad solidaritet med Spanska republiken på gräsrotsnivå, men upprätthöll officiellt en noggrann inställning till neutralitet i "den spanska frågan". Denna tvetydiga hållning återspeglades också i de informella kontakterna svenska regeringar hade med Francos Spanien under krigsåren – som tycks ha varit närmare och vänligare än vad som tidigare varit känt.
Neutral contacts in the periphery: diplomatic relations between Sweden and Spain during
the 1930s
This comparative history study aims to fill a gap in the historiography of international relations of the interwar period by analysing the political and diplomatic relations between Sweden and Spain during the 1930s, a crucial period in the history of both countries. It uses a large number of primary sources found in Swedish and Spanish archives, mainly diplomatic dispatches. A qualitative method commonly used in Spanish historical research has been adopted. The study shows the highly positive image of Sweden conveyed by Spanish diplomats in the 1930s as well as the more negative vision Swedish diplomats had of the Spanish Republic. It also points out the existence of a range of political and diplomatic contacts that were more intense than expected, basically framed within the field of co-operation between the neutral countries in the League of Nations, which led to the joint declarations of 1934 and 1936. Neutrality and pacifism were key concepts in these efforts.
In its second part, the study addresses the relations of Sweden with each of the two areas in which Spain was divided during the Civil War as well as the Swedish intervention in it, which included both humanitarian and military aspects. The study confirms that Sweden showed an unprecedented solidarity with the Spanish Republic at grassroots level, but officially maintained a scrupulous attitude of neutrality in “the Spanish question”. This ambiguity was also reflected in the informal but real ties Swedish governments had with Franco's Spain during the war years, which seem to have been closer and friendlier than expected.
