About the project
The project will shed light on important connections between the organized labor movements in the United States and Scandinavia from the end of the Second World War to Ronald Reagan's inauguration as American president in 1981.
In the context of the Cold War, a transatlantic network of labor leaders actively exchanged ideas, expertise, and capital, as a matter of both values and security.
The project draws upon a rich and largely untapped pool of material to explore the dynamics and consequences of these relationships, and in particular their contribution to a distinctive transatlantic identity and vision – a “Labor’s West”.
Purpose
This project aims to expand the boundaries of both US and Scandinavian labor history by exploring the extent, activities, and impact of a transatlantic labor network.
By conducting previously overlooked comparisons of Scandinavian labor movements' contacts with the US, including examining the role of women as transatlantic agents, the project uncovers the capacity of labor union officials to push global social change within a Cold War system.
The investigation reveals a complex system of exchange, cooperation, and rivalry that led to both solidarity and misunderstandings, as labor leaders cooperated and competed in the context of diverse situations and audiences.
A better understanding of the dynamism and fluidity of these transatlantic networks, challenges us to reconsider established beliefs about the Cold War period and the era of high modernity
Duration
From 01.09.23 to 02.28.27.
Financing
Funded by The Research Council of Norway, NFR 334689.