Localized Internationalism: Camping Across Borders in the Early Swedish Boy Scout Movement

This article examines early Boy Scout camps as events of national display and localized internationalism. By detailing how the camp culture of the Swedish Boy Scout movement facilitated transnational integration, the article shows that internationalism as localized practice can be observed in summer camp environments from the early days of the twentieth century. Reports from these early camps highlight the obstacles that young campers encountered when trying to fraternize with foreign Scouts, but also the integrative force of rituals like badge exchanges. On a more solemn note, the 1914 Baltic camp in Southern Sweden caused diplomatic controversy between the German and Danish guests, illustrating how sensitive these displays could be. After the First World War, the Swedish Boy Scout Association took active measures to increase international cooperation, but reports from Jamborees and other international Scout camps illustrate that international camaraderie was often accompanied by displays of national pride, thus accentuating elements of "national internationalism."