Military Transformations in Sweden and Norway During the Swedish-Norwegian Conflict on the Turn of the 19th — 20th Centuries (According to the Russian Diplomatic Correspondence)

Abstract

The arms race that unfolded at the turn of the 19th — 20th centuries in Sweden and Norway coincided with the development of the crisis in Swedish-Norwegian relations. Norway's struggle within the framework of the union with Sweden to expand its rights and gain greater independence led to an increase in discontent in public and political circles in Sweden, and the increasing pace of modernization of the armed forces of both countries generated mutual suspicions, rumors and accusations of purposeful activities against the “fraternal people”. Relying on the documents of the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, in particular on the reports of Russian diplomats who carefully observed the course of the conflict and carefully described all the events on the pages of their reports, the question is raised whether it is possible to talk about the Swedish-Norwegian conflict as the main reason for military reforms, whether the measures taken by the two countries were exclusively directed against each other. It can be concluded, to which Norwegian researchers also come, that the military buildup by Sweden and Norway at the turn of the 19th — 20th centuries was the result of a complex of reasons: firstly, it occurred in the context of the pan-European process of strengthening the armament of European states, and secondly, it was closely related to the growth of Norwegian nationalism and was perceived as part of the on national identity, characteristic of that time and thirdly, was in close interaction and influenced by the problems associated with the constitutional crisis of 1890—1905.