The Consular Affairs Issue and Colonialism

Svein Ivar Angell
svein.angell@uni.no

In late 19th century the states’ consular representation became an important factor in establishing national interests around the world and was also an instrument in colonial expansionism (Kirk-Greene 2000: 77). For small countries that were not themselves colonial powers, like Sweden and Norway, the consular service was largely seen as an instrument to participate in and take advantage of the economic developments in the international arena.

For Norway, with its open economy and its opportunity to express its foreign interests constrained by the Union, consular representation was considered particularly significant for international participation. The problem for Norway was that the country had shared consular service with Sweden, due to the personal union between the two countries established in 1814.

One key theme in the Norwegian political debate over the consular services issue around 1900 was how Norway could utilize the potential wealth created by the expansion of the European powers. Shipping was seen as particularly important in this respect. These considerations were part of the so-called consular affairs issue leading up to the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian Union in 1905 and were also integral to the considerations made by the Norwegian politicians when the country was about to define its own foreign policy after 1905.

Selected publications

Svein Ivar Angell og Ole Andreas Brekke (2011): Frå kraft versus natur til miljøvenleg energi? Norsk vasskraftpolitikk i eit hundreårsperspektiv, Rapport 3-2011, Uni Rokkansenteret.

Svein Ivar Angell (2011): Kapittel 13: Nasjonens omdømme (The reputation of the Nation), i Arild Wæraas, Haldor Byrkjeflot og Svein Ivar Angell (red.), Omdømmehåndtering i offentlig sektor, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo.

Svein Ivar Angell 2010: Norges nasjonspromotering - mellom nation branding, cultural diplomacy og økonomisk nasjonalisme, (Norway’s National Reputation Management – Between Nation Branding, Cultural Diplomacy and Economic Nationalism), Den Jyske Historiker, nr. 126.

Svein Ivar Angell 2009: Strategic Communication and Haukeland Hospital, in Astri Andresen et. al. (eds.), Healthcare Systems and Medical Institutions, Novus Press, Oslo

Angell, S.I. 2009: Framveksten av eit ressursforvaltningssystem i norske høgfjellsområde, [The establishment of a resource management system in Norwegian high mountain areas], Historisk Tidsskrift.

Angell. S.I. 2009: Konsualspørsmålet og kolonianismen, in K. Kjeland and K.M. Rio (eds.), In the Wake of Colonianism, Bergen

Byrkjeflot, H. & Angell, S.I. 2007: Dressing Up Hospitals as Enterprises? The Expansion and Managerialization of Communication in Norwegian Hospitals, in Peter Kjær & Tore Slaata (eds.), Mediating Business. The Expansion of Business Journalism, Copenhagen Business School Press 2007, ISBN 978-87-630-0199-1

Angell, S.I. 2006: Den historiske bakgrunnen for heimfallsinstituttet [The historical background of the hydro-power concessionary system], Magma - Tidsskrift for økonomi og ledelse, Fagbokforlaget, Bergen, pp. 77-85

Angell, S. I. 2006: Aktieselskabet Tyssefaldene og konsesjonsspørsmålet, [Ltd. Tyssefaldene and the hydro power concessionary issue], Tyssefaldene – Krafttak i 100 år, Bergen: Nor 4, ISBN 82-7326-072-0, 50 pages