Author: Irene Scobbie File Type: pdf Once part of the Kalmar Unionalong with Denmark and Norwaythe Kingdom of Sweden broke free in order to govern itself in the early 1500s, and for more than a century afterwards it was a force to be reckoned with. At its peak, it was twice the size that it is today, but with the secession of Finland in 1809 and the rise of Russia, Sweden changed its path and instead turned toward neutrality and a peaceful existence. Today, Sweden boasts a healthy economy, and it is an important member of the European Union, as well a major contributor to international activities.The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Sweden both updates and expands upon the previous edition. Through a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, events, and institutions, this dictionary provides information ranging from politics to economics, from education to religion, and from music to literature.ReviewOverall, this is a very useful reference work about Swedens distant as well as not-so-distant past. (American Reference Books Annual )Hundreds of cross-referenced, alphabetically arranged entries provide students, researchers, and general readers with quick access to information on important people, places, and events in Swedens history. Supplemental materials include maps, a chronology, a list of acronyms, and a general introduction. The volume concludes with an extensive bibliography, organized by subject. Sources are primarily in English. Now retired, Scobbie was head of the U. of Edinburghs Department of Scandinavian Studies. (Reference and Research Book News )This volume provides a very useful body of information both on general topics such as Economy and Emigration and on private individuals in numerous walks of life. (Reference Reviews )A satisfactory English-language summary of Swedish history, with good thumbnail sketches of important figures and events.(Journal Of Baltic Studies ) About the AuthorIrene Scobbie has written extensively on Sweden and lectured on Sweden and Scandinavia at several universities, including the University of Edinburgh, where she was head of the Department of Scandinavian Studies before retiring.

Author: Laura Robson File Type: pdf Across the Middle East in the postWorld War I era, European strategic moves converged with late Ottoman political practice and a newly emboldened Zionist movement to create an unprecedented push to physically divide ethnic and religious minorities from Arab Muslim majorities. States of Separation tells how the interwar Middle East became a site for internationally sanctioned experiments in ethnic separation enacted through violent strategies of population transfer and ethnic partition. During Britains and Frances interwar occupation of Iraq, Palestine, and Syria, the British and French mandate governments and the League of Nations undertook a series of varied but linked campaigns of ethnic removal and separation targeting the Armenian, Assyrian, and Jewish communities within these countries. Such schemes served simultaneously as a practical method of controlling colonial subjects and as a rationale for imposing a neo-imperial international governance, with long-standing consequences for the region. Placing the histories of Iraq, Palestine, and Syria within a global context of emerging state systems intent on creating new forms of international authority, in States of Separation Laura Robson sheds new light on the emergence of ethnic separatism in the modern Middle East. **From the Inside Flap With a focus on minority communities in the Middle East, Laura Robson examines the vital issues of ethnic borders and population exchanges. This is an original and clearly written work of important historical scholarship.Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas This book focuses on the interwar period when those in charge of the mandated states of the Middle East dealt with the newly arrived non-Arab refugees in their midst as essentially unassimilable groups andexcept for Britains encouragement of Jewish migration to Palestinethought up various impractical schemes to resettle them elsewhere. Dr. Robsons scholarship is of a high order and brings together a number of topics not generally found in each others company. Her work in the League of Nations archives has been especially fruitful.Peter Sluglett, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore About the Author Laura Robson is Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at Portland State University. She is the author of Colonialism and Christianity in Mandate Palestine and editor of Minorities and the Modern Arab World New Perspectives.