Samtidshistoria, internationella relationer och källproblematiken

The author contends that official archives and contemporary reports often serve as political legitimization rather than factual records. Using examples such as secret Swedish-US military cooperation, the 1980s submarine incursions in Sweden, and Cold War-era terrorism in Europe, the paper demonstrates how 'formative events' are frequently misinterpreted due to classification. The author advocates for a 'triangulation' method—combining archive material, technical evidence, and oral history—to uncover truths that states intentionally keep off the record.

• Crucial information in international relations is frequently omitted from written records to avoid leaks, meaning that the most sensitive agreements often exist only as oral communications.
• The 1980s submarine incursions in Swedish waters, originally attributed to the Soviet Union by official commissions and the media, are argued to have been 'false flag' deception operations conducted by the US and UK to influence Swedish opinion and policy.
• The author identifies a divide between 'Political Sweden' and 'Military Sweden' during the Cold War, where military leaders maintained secret ties with the US that were hidden from their own political leadership.
• Cold War terrorism in Europe, particularly in Italy and Belgium, was often presented as the work of radical left-wing groups but is argued to have been 'state terrorism' involving infiltration and initiation by Western and Eastern intelligence services.
• The author describes the creation of a 'simulacrum' or 'hyperreality' where the media and academic representation of an event replaces the actual reality, effectively legitimizing political agendas through a false narrative.
• To overcome the limitations of official archives, the author proposes a methodological 'triangulation' that integrates archival material, oral history, and technical evidence.

APA

TUNANDER, O. (2012). Samtidshistoria, internationella relationer och källproblematiken. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/e29ae203-134b-4b84-94b4-29cd458a10d0/Samtidshistoria internationella relationer och kllproblematiken.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

TUNANDER, OLA. Samtidshistoria, internationella relationer och källproblematiken. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2012. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/e29ae203-134b-4b84-94b4-29cd458a10d0/Samtidshistoria internationella relationer och kllproblematiken.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=TUNANDER |first1=OLA |title=Samtidshistoria, internationella relationer och källproblematiken |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2012 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/e29ae203-134b-4b84-94b4-29cd458a10d0/Samtidshistoria internationella relationer och kllproblematiken.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tunander2012samtidshistoria, author = {TUNANDER, OLA}, title = {{Samtidshistoria, internationella relationer och källproblematiken}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2012}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/e29ae203-134b-4b84-94b4-29cd458a10d0/Samtidshistoria internationella relationer och kllproblematiken.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }