Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Page 387
REVUE LITTÉRAIRE
377
sc'A’NDInavia and leag:ue policy
S. Sheþard Jones: The Scandinavian States and the League of
Nations. Princeton University Press, Princeton. American Scandi-
navian Foundation. New York. 1939. 238 p. $ 3,00 net.
This book, which was published
with a subsidy from the Norwegian
N°bel Institute, is the result of
thoroughgoing studies during se-
yeral years. As early as 1930, at a
tune when the League of Nations
still seemed to have some political
influence or when at any rate still
ln wide circles political hopes were
c°nnected with it, the author —
now director of the World Peace
b°undation, Boston — began to
direct his attention to the róle of
^be secondary powers in the League.
Under Sir Alfred Zimmern’s super-
vision he wrote his doctoral thesis
The Outlook and Activities of the
Scandinavian States in the League
°I Nations”, which forms the basis
°I the present study.
The author has taken great
^rouble in preparing his work. With
tbe greatest thoroughness he has
studied all official documents (go-
vernment proposals, reports, par-
hamentary debates, League of Na-
tions’ publications etc.) together
w,th an extensive historical and po-
itical litterature noticeable from
the numerous notes and references.
bloreover, during the years 1934—
1936 he has lived in Stockholm,
Uopenhagen and Oslo and through
Personal conversations with many
Prominent Scandinavian League-
politicians, lawyers and writers has
obtained further information. The
outcome of the work has turned out
an uncommonly well founded and
excellently documented statement,
which, as far as the reviewer is able
to judge, within the given propor-
tions is without parallel in the poli-
tico-historical litterature. If only
for this reason the book deserves
recognition. The Scandinavian pu-
blic must highly appreciate that
their special outlook, seen in its
historical connection, and their con-
tribution to the various fields with-
in the widely branching work of
the League of Nations, thus is
placed before a world public in a
form that in every way satisfies the
most rigorous demands to precision
and objectivity.
The author’s account includes
only Denmark, Norway and Swe-
den. The exclusion of Iceland is
but natural, as it has never been
nor is a member of the League. Fin-
land though mentioned in connec-
tion with some important questions,
is left out of consideration for the
reason that this country “can hard-
ly be classified now as a Scandina-
vian State. Although about 10 per
cent. of her population speak Swe-
dish, on political grounds Finland
has not, at least until quite recent-
ly, been included in the Scandi-
navian bloc. In September 1934,