The early works of Ibsen – which concentrate on historical issues from the old Norwegian past, using material from sagas, folk-tales, and songs – give us a picture of an author who is focused on a national programme. In accordance with the Romantic philosophy of history (historism), Ibsen uses its main categories of causation and explanation of the national past, mainly positing individual ideas as a major shaping force of the course of history and the impact of great personalities. At the same time, Ibsen presents the path for Norwegians to build a strong and independent nation, and the conditions that have to be fulfilled for that to happen.
The goal of the article “Svenskhet som gräns, Swedishness as a border” is to present problems with the concept of Swedishness from another perspective than it has been discussed in the Swedish media. The article analyses responses from Swedish political parties with regard to “Swedishness” and democracy, and it provides an insight to the contemporary situation in Sweden.
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