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Abstract: In my presentation, I will discuss the management of inter-state relationships by small power foreign policy-makers in Second World War exile. German, Italian and Soviet aggression during the late 1930s and early 1940s forced eight European governments—including that of Norway, Czechoslovakia, and Poland—to continue the struggle for the survival of their states in exile. By mid-1941, they had settled in London, making it a unique diplomatic hub where politicians were socialising, collaborating, and learning about and from each other. Norway’s relationships with Czechoslovakia and Poland serve as a platform for analysis of this unprecedented historical episode. In exile, these relationships were reinforced by the physical proximity of political leaders and activists. While the Second World War is often studied as an apogee of internationalism, the historiography of the London-based governments-in-exile manifests a narrow, nationalist focus. By contrast, the present study zooms in on the political elites’ socialization and communication. More broadly, it underscores the value of diplomacy for the agency and legitimacy of small power representatives facing displacement and contestation of their mandate.

My study demonstrates how and by what means Norwegian foreign policy-makers mastered and converted, respectively, the challenges and opportunities that came with the expanding diplomatic field. It proves Norway’s privileged position in Second World War London. Finally, it explicates how the participation of the small power governments-in-exile in negotiations over post-war security and international organization helped them retain international credibility, circumvent the asymmetry of power separating them from the superpowers, and manifest prowess for their domestic audiences.

Bio: Pavol Jakubec is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg and an affiliate of the Centre for European Research (CERGU) same place. Before earning his PhD in history, Jakubec studied history, with contemporary international history as a specialty, and Norwegian language and culture at Charles University, Prague, and the University of Oslo. His work explores Nordic and Central European history and diplomatic history, c. 1918-1950. He has previously published in, e.g. Diplomacy & Statecraft, Diplomatica, H-Diplo, and International History Review. He is a member of the New Diplomatic History network (). Throughout the years, he has covered various topics in international as well as Nordic and Central and Eastern European history within undergraduate and graduate courses in history and area/European studies at Charles University, Prague, and the University of Gothenburg.