Cold War Sweden and the Media : A Historiographical Overview and a Glance Ahead

This article offers an overview of some main approaches in Swedish Cold War studies with a specific attention to how this field of research has dealt with the media as historical sources. The historiographical development is divided into two major research paradigms, one focusing on politics and Sweden in the postwar global environment, and the other focusing on the cultural aspects of the Cold War in Sweden. The last four decades have presented very different approaches to media as a source for historical inquiry, but also various understandings of the concept of media and theories about the interrelatedness of media forms. The broader aim of this article is not only to highlight the importance of recognizing the significance of media-historical perspectives to Cold War studies in general, but also to problematize Cold War historiography from the point of view of media history. Finally, some very tentative suggestions for future research into Swedish Cold War media history are presented.