Stockholm university
Hans Blix Centre

About the centre

The aim of the Hans Blix Centre is to serve as a Swedish platform for historical research about power relations in the international system exerted by states and non-state actors, inter-governmental organizations, international law, transnational corporations, lobbyists, activists and other groups of actors which are studied from international, transnational and global perspectives.

Tändsticksmap

The Hans Blix Centre for the History of International Relations at Stockholm University was formally established on 1 March 2020. Its activities started in the form of a network established in the spring of 2018 by researchers from the Department of History and the Department of Economic History and International Relations.

International History is rooted in Diplomatic History and has undergone various shifts in recent decades resulting in a new dynamic academic field integrating perspectives, theories and methods from related and other disciplines including political science and IR, economy, gender studies, psychology or sociology. The purpose of the HBC is to initiate and stimulate historically informed research about Swedish foreign policy, the country's role in the world and international relations more broadly on the basis of this innovative approach.

Because of its proximity to decision-makers and government archives, Stockholm University is naturally predestined to harbour a Swedish centre for the history of international relations.

 

Patron

Hans Blix was born in Uppsala in 1928. He studied Law at Uppsala University and Columbia University and received his PhD in International Law at the University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall) in 1958. In 1959, he received his Swedish JD at Stockholm University where he was appointed docent one year later. His doctoral dissertation "Some Aspects of the Conclusion of Treaties" was published under the title of Treaty-making power by Stevens & Sons in 1961. In 1962, Blix was employed by Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and became a member of the Swedish delegations to the United Nations (1961–1981) and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (1962–1976). In 1976, he was appointed Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs and two years later he became Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs in the liberal government led by Ola Ullsten. Blix then led the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) between 1981 and 1997 and served as Chairman of UNMOVIC (United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission) from 2000 to 2003. His magnum opus A Farewell to Wars will be published by Cambridge University Press in October 2023.

 

Board

The Board is appointed for the period 1 March 2023 – 31 December 2025 and is the governing organ of the Centre. The Board usually assembles twice a year. Protocols from its meetings are publicly accessible via the website.

Chairman

Björn Wittrock, Professor emeritus of Political Science at Uppsala universitet and Permanent Fellow, Founding Director as well as Former Principal of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS).

Members

Thomas Jonter, Professor of International Relations, Department of Economic History and International Relations.

Leos Müller, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Maritime Studies (CEMAS).

Emma Rosengren, Postdoctoral Researcher, Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Michael Sohlman, Former State Secretary, CEO of the Nobel Foundation and Chairman of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Stephanie Winkler, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Economic History and International Relations

Karin Åström Iko, Head of the Swedish National Archives.

 

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is an advisory body composed of internationally prominent researchers and research leaders. Its aims to contribute to the establishment of the Centre as a hub in the international research landscape. The group is appointed by the board.

Members

Juhana Aunesluoma, Professor of Political History, University of Helsinki.

Linda Colley, Shelby M.C. Davis 1958 Professor of History, Princeton University.

Anne Deighton, Professor Emeritus of European International Politics, Wolfson College and Department of Politics & International Relations, University of Oxford.

Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of History, Harvard University.

Mark Kramer, Director of the Cold War Studies Programme at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University.

Karl Molin, Professor Emeritus of History, Stockholm University.

David Motadel, Associate Professor of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Former members

Laurien Crump-Gabreëls, Associate Professor in the History of International Relations, Utrecht University.

Magnus Petersson, Professor at the Institute for Defense Studies in Oslo.

 

Director and Secretary

Director

Aryo Makko, Professor of History.

Secretary

Felix Funke Gómez, MA Student in History at Uppsala University.

 

 

Researchers

The Hans Blix Centre aims to function as a platform for cooperation and exchange between scholars of international history and offers visiting researchers opportunities for both shorter and longer spells at Stockholm University.

Affiliated Researchers

Sune Bechmann Pedersen, Docent (Reader) in History and Senior Lecturer in Digital History.

Elisabeth Corell, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economic History and International Relations.

Zigne Edström, PhD Candidate in International Relations.

Thomas Jonter, Professor of International Relations, Department of Economic History and International Relations.

Aryo Makko, Professor of History.

Leos Müller, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Maritime Studies (CEMAS).

Magnus Petersson, Professor of International Relations and Head of Department, Department of Economic History and International Relations.

Birgit Tremml-Werner, Senior Lecturer in Global History.

Associated Researchers

Matthaios Amanatiadis, PhD Candidate in History, Uppsala University.

Carl Marklund, Associate Professor of Nordic History and Senior Researcher, Södertörn University.

Oscar Nygren, PhD Candidate in History, Uppsala University, Södertörn University.

Emma Rosengren, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Economic History and International Relations.

Pontus Rudberg, Researcher at the Hugo Valentin Centre, Uppsala University.

Visiting Researchers

Ville Okkonen, Senior Researcher, University of Turku.

Naman Habtom Desta, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge.

 

Former Associated and Visiting Researchers

2022/23

Perry Young, PhD Candidate, Georgetown University.

Pontus Rudberg, Researcher at the Hugo Valentin Centre, Uppsala University.

Dustin Voss, Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne.

2021/22

Nevra Biltekin, Postdoctoral Researcher, Stockholm University.

Thomas Fraise, PhD Candidate, SciencesPo Paris.

Elina Kuorelahti, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki.

Marieke Oprel, Senior Lecturer, Radboud University.

Christopher Seiberlich, PhD Candidate, University of Freiburg.

Dustin Voss, PhD Candidate, London School of Economics and Political Science.

2020/21

Carl Marklund, Associate Professor of Nordic History and Senior Researcher, Södertörn University.

Göran Rydeberg, PhD in History.

2019/20

Magnus Petersson, Professor at the Institute for Defense Studies in Oslo.

Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, Postdoctoral Researcher, Lund University.

 

Blix seminars

Seminar programme, autumn semester 2023

The Blix Seminar usually gathers on Wednesdays, 3 PM at Gula Villan (Svante Arrhenius väg 33).

13 September
Una Bergmane (University of Helsinki), “Politics of Uncertainty. The United States, the Baltic Question, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union”.

11 October
Vladislav Zubok (London School of Economics and Political Science), “Collapse. The Fall of the Soviet Union”.

18 October
WORKSHOP: "Seven Decades of Collaboration: Sweden and Switzerland at the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in Korea” (in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy).

15 November
Giles Scott-Smith (Leiden University), “Pandora's Box? Citizen Diplomacy and New Diplomatic History".

29 November
Mikael Holmström (Dagens Nyheter), "Bevakningen av rikets säkerhet: hur journalistiska metoder ledde till nya rön om Sveriges hemliga samarbete med NATO" ("How Journalistic Methods Led to New Insights About Sweden's Secret Cooperation with NATO).

13 December
Irena Fliter (University of Göttingen), "The Camondo Family – Cultures of Power between the Ottoman Empire and Europe in the Late Eighteenth Century" (in cooperation with the Seminar in Early Modern History).

 

Seminariet i IR historia ht23

 

 

Book Series

The Blix Centre started a book series in Swedish with Santérus in January 2021. The purposes of the series is to create a platform that allows Swedish academics to present their research to a broader audience. The series is edited by SU professors Aryo Makko, Leos Müller and Magnus Petersson.

Published volumes

4. Sven Hirdman, De hemliga rapporterna från Moskva. Från Ryssland 1994 till kriget i Ukraina 2022, 2023.

3. Oscar Nygren, Kampen om stoltheten. Torsten Nilsson, känslorna och utrikespolitiken, 2022.

2. Emma Rosengren, Förnuft, känsla och kärnvapen. Svensk nedrustningspolitik ur ettfeministiskt perspektiv, 2021.

1. Göran Rydeberg, Utrikes- och säkerhetspolitikens historia från 1800 till idag. En studie kring svenska och nordiska perspektivförskjutningar, 2021.

 

 

Last updated: September 14, 2023

Source: Hans Blix Centre

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