Fear, survival and war on paths to nationhood in Scandinavia, 1809–1914.

This article discusses how notions of fear, survival and war influenced nationalism in Scandinavia in the 19th century. It argues that fear of annihilation and concerns about security led to an obsession with size and capability among several leading politicians and national ideologues, making them embrace unification nationalism as a means of national security and survival. Thus, in offering empirical support for Eric Hobsbawm's theory of a threshold principle nations in the 19th century, the article also lends support to John Hutchinson's emphasis on the significance of warfare in nation‐formation. The present article shows that 19th‐century nationalism in Scandinavia in the nineteenth century had a less benign side than traditional studies suggest, as the quest for security and survival in an anarchic and dangerous world meant that war was reckoned with or even thought of as necessary. Consequently, influential contemporaries advocated other kinds of state‐formation than the current Scandinavian nation‐states, deeming unification as the best way to offer security. Yet, notions of fear, survival and war did not only apply to unification nationalism as the case of Norwegian secession nationalism shows. This suggests that, generally, 19th‐century nationalism in Scandinavia is compatible with the realist school of international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]