SpringerLink
Log in

Labor Market Struggles and Labor Market Relations in the Nordic Countries, 1848–2020: Trends and Fluctuations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Trade Union Activism in the Nordic Countries since 1900

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements ((PSHSM))

  • 143 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter provides a broad overview of the development of major labor market struggles and labor market institutions in the Nordic countries; the three Scandinavian countries Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and Finland. It begins with a short review of the early years of the Nordic labor movements and the introduction of a new repertoire of contentious action with the strike, the lockout, and the mass demonstration as the most popular and effective collective manifestations. Then follows a description of the formative years of the labor movements and the consolidation of the nationwide trade union organizations from 1900 until the end of Second World War. The final historical sections look at labor market disputes during the creation of the Nordic welfare states since 1945, when the trade union movements and the labor parties reached their zenith but also came under greater pressure due to declining support in the time leading up to the millennium.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Iceland, the fifth Nordic country, is only included in Chapter 17.

  2. 2.

    Quoted from Karlbom, R. (1967) Hungerupplopp och strejker 1793–1869 (Lund: Gleerups), p. 42. Translated by the authors.

  3. 3.

    Ibid., p. 264. Translated by the authors.

  4. 4.

    Mikkelsen, F. (1986) ‘Workers and Industrialization in Scandinavia, 1750–1940’ in Hanagan, M. and Stephenson, C. (eds.) Proletarians and Protest: The Roots of Class Formation in an Industrializing World (New York: Greenwood Press); Cederqvist, J. (1980) Arbetare i strejk: Studier rörende arbetarnas politiska mobilisering under industrialismens genombrott: Stockholm 1850–1909 (Stockholm: LiberFörlag); and Olstad, F. (1981) ‘Fra matopprør til streik’, Tidsskrift for Arbeiderbevegelsens Historie, 1, pp. 115–30.

  5. 5.

    Mikkelsen, F. (1993) ‘Industrial Conflict in Scandinavia 1848–1990’ in Kettunen, P. (ed.) Strike and Social Change (Turku: Turku Provincial Museum), pp. 27–52, pp. 32–35; and Soikkanen, H. (1993) ‘Historical Review of Strikes in Finland’, in Kettunen, Strike and Social Change, pp. 17–26.

  6. 6.

    Galenson, W. (1952) The Danish System of Labour Relations: A Study of Industrial Peace (Cambridge: Harvard University Press), p. 283.

  7. 7.

    Bergholm, T. (2016) A History of the SAK (Helsinki: SAK), p. 11.

  8. 8.

    Jensen, C. S. (ed.) (2000) Arbejdsgivere i Norden: En sociologisk analyse af arbejdsgiverorganiseringen i Norge, Sverige, Finland og Danmark (Copenhagen: Nordisk Ministerråd).

  9. 9.

    Berglund, M. (2018) ‘Sweden 1740–1889: From Peasant Rebellion to Urban Riots—The Long Process of Democratization’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 279–318, p. 313.

  10. 10.

    Christensen, L. K., Kolstrup, S. and Hansen, A. E. (2007) Arbejdernes historie i Danmark 1800–2000 (Copenhagen: SFAH), pp. 58–59, 78–81; and Knudsen, K. (2021) Danish Trade Unionism 1870–1940 (Aalborg: Aalborg University Press).

  11. 11.

    Mikkelsen, F. (1992) Arbejdskonflikter i Skandinavien 1848–1980 (Odense: Odense Universitetsforlag), pp. 45–75.

  12. 12.

    Elvander, E. (1980) Skandinavisk arbetarrörelse (Vällingby: LiberFörlag), pp. 23–49; Es**-Andersen, G. (1985) Politics Against Markets: The Social Democratic Road to Power (Princeton: Princeton University Press), pp. 57–70; and Kirby, D. (2006) A Concise History of Finland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 150–51.

  13. 13.

    Nielsen. N. K. (2009) Bonde, stat og hjem: Nordisk demokrati og nationalisme – fra pietisme til 2. verdenskrig (Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag); Alapuro, R. and Stenius, H. (eds.) (2010) Nordic Associations in a European Perspective (Baden-Baden: Nomos); and Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle.

  14. 14.

    Simonson, B. (1985) Socialdemokratin och maktövertagandet: SAP:s politiska strategi 1889–1911 (Göteborg: Historiska institutionen); and Greiff, M. and Lundin, J. (2018) ‘Sweden 1880–1910: The Age of the Labour Movement’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 319–55, pp. 326–29.

  15. 15.

    Olofsson, M. (2016) ‘Rösträttskravallerna i Stockholm 1902 och den återvunna demonstrationsrätten’, in Ericsson, M. and Pinto, A. B. (eds.) Politik underifrån: Kollektiva konfrontationer under Sveriges 1900-tal (Lund: Arkiv förlag), pp. 31–54.

  16. 16.

    Tikka, M. (2017) ‘Strike in Finland, Revolution in Russia: The Role of Workers in the 1905 General Strike in the Grand Duchy of Finland’ in Hilson, M., Neunsinger, S. and Vyff, I. (eds.) Labour, Unions and Politics Under the North Star (New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books), pp. 197–217.

  17. 17.

    Schiller, B. (1967) Storstrejken 1909: Förhistoria och orsaker (Göteborg: Elander); and Mikkelsen, Arbejdskonflikter, pp. 144–53.

  18. 18.

    Knudsen, K. (1999) Arbejdskonflikternes historie i Danmark: Arbejdskampe og arbejderbevægelse 1870–1940 (Copenhagen: SFAH), pp. 104–10; and Mikkelsen, Arbejdskonflikter, pp. 214–20.

  19. 19.

    Ericsson, M. and Nyzell, S. (2018) ‘Sweden 1910–1950: The Contentious Swedes—Popular Struggle and Democracy’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 337–46; Mikkelsen, F. (2018) ‘Denmark 1914–1939: Popular Struggle in an Age of Mass Politics’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 73–102, pp. 81–85; Kjeldstadli, K. (2018) ‘Norway 1850–1940: Six Types of Popular Resistance’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 201–44, pp. 227–31; and Mikkelsen, Arbejdskonflikter, pp. 153–57, 220–33, 294–306.

  20. 20.

    Alapuro, R. (1988) State and Revolution in Finland (Berkeley: University of California Press), pp. 114–27.

  21. 21.

    Alapuro, R. (1998) ‘Artisans and Revolution in a Finnish Country Town’ in Hanagan, M., Moch, L. P. and te Brake, W. (eds.) Challenging Authority: The Historical Study of Contentious Politics (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press), pp. 73–88.

  22. 22.

    Alapuro, State and Revolution, p. 123.

  23. 23.

    Ibid., pp. 167ff.

  24. 24.

    Kirby, A Concise History, pp. 163–65.

  25. 25.

    Soikkanen, ‘Historical Review of Strikes’, p. 19.

  26. 26.

    Teräs, K. (1993) ‘Industrial Actionism and Industrial Conflicts in Finland’ in Kettunen, Strike and Social Change, pp. 71–76; and Bergholm, T. (2000) ‘Historieforskning och fackföreningsrörelse i Finland’, Arbetarhistoria, 26, 103–104, pp. 45–50, p. 47.

  27. 27.

    Dahl, H. F. Dybdahl, V, Hentilä, S. and Torbacke, J. (1974) ‘Krisen og det politiske liv’ in Kriser och krispolitik i Norden under mellankrigstiden (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell), pp. 71–104.

  28. 28.

    Hilson, M. (2007) ‘Scandinavia’ in Gerwarth, R. (ed.) Twisted Paths: Europe 1914–1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 8–32, pp. 20–22; Krake, K. (2016) Skandinavien i ekstremernes tidsalder: Systemkritik og demokratiforsvar i mellemkrigstiden, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern Denmark; and Österberg, M. (2017) ‘Norden as a Transnational Space in the 1930s’ in Hilson, Neunsinger and Vyff, Labour, Unions and Politics.

  29. 29.

    Mikkelsen, F. (2005) ‘Working-Class Formation in Europe and Forms of Integration: History and Theory’, Labor History, 46, 3, pp. 277–306.

  30. 30.

    Weiss, H. (2021) A Global Radical Waterfront: The International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers and the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, 1921–1937 (Leiden: Brill), pp. 344–48, 405–06.

  31. 31.

    Elvander, Skandinavisk arbetarrörelse, pp. 50–56.

  32. 32.

    Rønning, O. M. (2015) ‘Communism in the Nordic Countries 1917–1990: Communist Parties—Organisational Development and Electoral Support’ in Egge, Å. and Rybner, S. (eds.) Red Star in the North: Communism in the Nordic Countries (Stamsund: Orkana Akademisk), pp. 37–61, pp. 45–47; and Saarela, T. (2015) ‘From Revolutions to Peaceful Roads—Communist Strategy in the Nordic Countries’ in Egge and Rybner, Red Star in the North, pp. 120–57, pp. 135.

  33. 33.

    Grimnes, O. K. (2010), ‘Okkupation og politik’, in Dahl, H. F., Kirchhoff, H., Lund, J. and Vaale, L.-E. (eds.) Danske tilstande – Norske tilstande: Forskelle og ligheder under tysk besættelse 1940–45 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal), pp. 79–103.

  34. 34.

    Borgersrud, L. (2010) ‘Modstandsbevægelsen i Norge’ in Dahl, Kirchhoff, Lund and Vaale, Danske tilstande, pp. 177–99, pp. 193–95.

  35. 35.

    Pedersen, B. S. and Holm, A. (1998) ‘Restraining Excesses: Resistance and Counter-Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Denmark 1940–1945’, Terrorism and Political Violence, 10, 1, pp. 60–89.

  36. 36.

    Kirchhoff, H. (1979) Augustoprøret 1943, Vol. 1–3 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal); and Mikkelsen, F. (2018) ‘Denmark 1940–1946: War, Occupation and Liberation’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 103–10.

  37. 37.

    Kirchhoff, H. (2004) Samarbejde og modstand under besættelsen (Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark).

  38. 38.

    Kjeldsen, M. (2010) ‘Mellem oprør og demokrati: Om normaliseringen i Danmark maj-oktober 1945’ in Dahl, Kirchhoff, Lund and Vaale, Danske tilstande, 282–308.

  39. 39.

    Mikkelsen, Arbejdskonflikter, p. 160.

  40. 40.

    Ericsson and Nyzell, ‘Sweden 1910–1950’, pp. 363–65.

  41. 41.

    Bergholm, A History of the SAK, pp. 34–35, 41–42.

  42. 42.

    Jörberg, L. and Krantz, O. (1976) ‘Scandinavia 1914–1970’ in Cipolla, C. M. (ed.) The Fontana Economic History of Europe. Vol. 6, Part 2: Contemporary Economies (Glasgow: Collins), pp. 377–459; Mjøset, L. (ed.) (1986) Norden dagen derpå: De nordiske økonomisk-politiske modellene og deres problemer på 70- og 80-tallet (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget); and Mjøset, L. (1987) ‘Nordic Economic Policies in the 1970s and 1980s’, International Organization, 41, 3, pp. 403–56.

  43. 43.

    Mikkelsen, F. (2012) ‘Class and Social Movements in Scandinavia Since 1945’, Moving the Social: Journal of Social History and the History of Social Movements, 48, pp. 29–48.

  44. 44.

    Cerny, K. H. (ed.) (1977) Scandinavia at the Polls: Recent Political Trends in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (Washington: Amer Enterprise); and Knutsen, O. (2006) Class Voting in Western Europe (Oxford: Lexington Books).

  45. 45.

    Korpi, W. (1978) The Working Class in Welfare Capitalism: Work, Unions and Politics in Sweden (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul), Ch. 4; and Korpi, W. (1983) The Democratic Class Struggle (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).

  46. 46.

    Crouch, C. (1982) Trade Unions: The Logic of Collective Action (Glasgow: Fontana), pp. 206–07.

  47. 47.

    Mikkelsen, Arbejdskonflikter; and Soikkanen, ‘Historical Review of Strikes’.

  48. 48.

    Nieminen, A. (2000) ‘Finnish Employer Confederations—Streamlining Inner Organization and Regulating National Capitalism’ in Jensen, Arbejdsgivere i Norden, pp. 287–371, p. 305.

  49. 49.

    Mikkelsen, Arbejdskonflikter, pp. 363–420; Mikkelsen, F. (1997) ‘Cycles of Struggle and Innovations in Industrial Relations in Denmark After World War II, Scandinavian Journal of History, 22, pp. 31–51; Thörnqvist, C. (1994) Arbetarna lämnar fabriken: Strejkrörelser i Sverige under efterkrigstiden, deres bakgrund, förlopp och føljder (Göteborg: Historiska institutionen); and Stokke, T. Aa. and Thörnqvist, C. (2001) ‘Strikes and Collective Bargaining in the Nordic Countries’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 7, 3, pp. 245–267.

  50. 50.

    Crouch, C. and Pizzorno, A. (eds.) (1978) The Resurgence of Class Conflict in Western Europe Since 1968, Vol. 1–2 (New York: Holmes & Meier).

  51. 51.

    Peterson, A., Thörn, H. and Wahlström, M. (2018) ‘Sweden 1950–2015: Contentious Politics and Social Movements Between Confrontation and Conditioned Cooperation’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 377–432, p. 386.

  52. 52.

    Helle, I. and Matos, T. (2018) ‘Norway 1945–2015: Contention and Democracy’ in Mikkelsen, Kjeldstadli and Nyzell, Popular Struggle, pp. 245–75, p. 248.

  53. 53.

    Stokke and Thörnqvist, ‘Strikes and Collective Bargaining’, p. 256; Mattila, Aa. (1993) ‘Industrial Conflicts and Their Mediation in the Finnish Labour Market from the 1800’s to the 1980’s’ in Kettunen, Strike and Social Change, pp. 53–70; Lilja, K. (1998) ‘Finland: Continuity and Modest Moves Towards Company-Level Corporatism’ in Ferner, A. and Hyman, R. (eds.) Changing Industrial Relations in Europe (Oxford: Blackwell), p. 177; and Bergholm, T. and Jonker-Hoffrén, P. (2012) ‘Farewell to the Communist Strike Hypothesis?—The Diversity of Striking in Finland Between 1971–1990’ in van der Velden, S., Varela, R. and Simões do Paço, A. (eds.) Strikes and Social Conflict: Towards a Global History (Lisbon: International Association Strikes and Social Conflict), pp. 401–13.

  54. 54.

    Scheuer, S. (2004), Strejker i Europa, LO-Dokumentation 2 (Copenhagen: LO).

  55. 55.

    Ozaki, M. (1987) ‘Labour Relations in Public Service’, International Labour Review, 126, 3 and 4.

  56. 56.

    Thörnqvist (1994) Arbetarna, pp. 128–30; and Mikkelsen, F. (1998) ‘Unions and New Shopfloor Strike Strategies and Learning Processes among Public Employees’, Economic and Industrial Democracy: An International Journal, 19, 3, pp. 505–38.

  57. 57.

    Julkunen, R. and Rantalaiho, L. (1993) ‘Women on Strike—Nonexistent or Silenced?’ in Kettunen, Strike and Social Change, pp. 97–114.

  58. 58.

    Sørensen, A. E. (2014) ‘Fra velfærdsbevægelse til ligelønsbevægelse’, Temp, 9, pp. 142–69.

  59. 59.

    Hilson, M. (2008) The Nordic Model: Scandinavia Since 1945 (London: Reaktion Books), pp. 157–74.

  60. 60.

    Kjeldstadli, K. (2015) ‘A Closed Nation or an Open Working Class? When Do Unions Opt for Including Labour Migrants?’ in Bieler, A. et al. (eds.) Labour and Transnational Action in Times of Crisis (London: Rowman & Littlefield), pp. 83–98.

References

  • Alapuro, R. (1988) State and Revolution in Finland (Berkeley: University of California Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Alapuro, R. (1998) ‘Artisans and Revolution in a Finnish Country Town’, in Hanagan, M., Moch, L. P. and te Brake, W. (eds.) Challenging Authority: The Historical Study of Contentious Politics (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press), pp. 73–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alapuro, R. and Stenius, H. (eds.) (2010) Nordic Associations in a European Perspective (Baden-Baden: Nomos).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergholm, T. (2000) ‘Historieforskning och fackföreningsrörelse i Finland’, Arbetarhistoria, 26, 103–104, pp. 45–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergholm, T. (2016) A History of the SAK (Helsinki: SAK).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergholm, T. and Jonker-Hoffrén, P. (2012) ‘Farewell to the Communist Strike Hypothesis?—The Diversity of Striking in Finland Between 1971–1990’ in van der Velden, S., Varela, R. and Simões do Paço, A. (eds.) Strikes and Social Conflict: Towards a Global History (Lisbon: International Association Strikes and Social Conflict), pp. 401–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berglund, M. (2018) ‘Sweden 1740–1889: From Peasant Rebellion to Urban Riots—The Long Process of Democratization’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 279–318.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Borgersrud, L. (2010) ‘Modstandsbevægelsen i Norge’ in Dahl, H. F., Kirchhoff, H., Lund, J. and Vaale, L.-E. (eds.) Danske tilstande – Norske tilstande. Forskelle og ligheder under tysk besættelse 1940–1945 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal), pp. 177–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cederqvist, J. (1980) Arbetare i strejk: Studier rörende arbetarnas politiska mobilisering under industrialismens genombrott: Stockholm 1850–1909 (Stockholm: LiberFörlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerny, K. H. (ed.) (1977) Scandinavia at the Polls: Recent Political Trends in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (Washington: Amer Enterprise).

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, L. K., Kolstrup, S. and Hansen, A. E. (2007) Arbejdernes historie i Danmark 1800–2000 (Copenhagen: SFAH).

    Google Scholar 

  • Crouch, C. (1982) Trade Unions: The Logic of Collective Action (Glasgow: Fontana).

    Google Scholar 

  • Crouch, C. and Pizzorno, A. (eds.) (1978) The Resurgence of Class Conflict in Western Europe Since 1968, Vol. 1–2 (New York: Holmes & Meier).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, H. F., Dybdahl, V., Hentilä, S. and Torbacke, J. (1974) ‘Krisen og det politiske liv’ in Kriser och krispolitik i Norden under mellankrigstiden (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell), pp. 71–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elvander, E. (1980) Skandinavisk arbetarrörelse (Vällingby: LiberFörlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ericsson, M. and Nyzell, S. (2018) ‘Sweden 1910–1950: The Contentious Swedes—Popular Struggle and Democracy’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 337–75.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Es**-Andersen, G. (1985) Politics Against Markets: The Social Democratic Road to Power (Princeton: Princeton University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Galenson, W. (1952) The Danish System of Labor Relations: A Study in Industrial Peace (Cambridge: Harvard University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Greiff, M. and Lundin, J. (2018) ‘Sweden 1880–1910: The Age of the Labour Movement’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 319–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimnes, O. K. (2010) ‘Okkupation og politik’ in Dahl, H. F., Kirchhoff, H., Lund, J. and Vaale, L.-E. (eds.) Danske tilstande – Norske tilstande. Forskelle og ligheder under tysk besættelse 1940–45 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal), pp. 79–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helle, I. and Matos, T. (2018) ‘Norway 1945–2015: Contention and Democracy’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave), pp. 245–75.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, M. (2007) ‘Scandinavia’ in Gerwarth, R. (ed.) Twisted Paths: Europe 1914–1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 8–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, M. (2008) The Nordic Model: Scandinavia Since 1945 (London: Reaktion Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, C. S. (ed.) (2000) Arbejdsgivere i Norden: En sociologisk analyse af arbejdsgiverorganiseringen i Norge, Sverige, Finland og Danmark (Copenhagen: Nordisk Ministerråd).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jörberg, L. and Krantz, O. (1976) ‘Scandinavia 1914–1970’ in Cipolla, C. M. (ed.) The Fontana Economic History of Europe. Vol. 6, Part 2: Contemporary Economies (Glasgow: Collins), pp. 377–459.

    Google Scholar 

  • Julkunen, R. and Rantalaiho, L. (1993) ‘Women on Strike—Nonexistent or Silenced?’ in Kettunen, P. (ed.) Strike and Social Change (Turku: Turku Provincial Museum), pp. 97–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlbom, R. (1967) Hungerupplopp och strejker 1793–1869 (Lund: Gleerups).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, D. (2006) A Concise History of Finland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchhoff, H. (1979) Augustoprøret 1943, Vol. 1–3 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirchhoff, H. (2004) Samarbejde og modstand under besættelsen (Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kjeldsen, M. (2010) ‘Mellem oprør og demokrati: Om normaliseringen i Danmark maj-oktober 1945’ in Dahl, H. F., Kirchhoff, H., Lund, J. and Vaale, L.-E. (eds.) Danske tilstande – Norske tilstande: Forskelle og ligheder under tysk besættelse 1940–45 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal), pp. 282–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kjeldstadli, K. (2015) ‘A Closed Nation or an Open Working Class? When Do Unions Opt for Including Labour Migrants?’ in Bieler, A. et al. (eds.) Labour and Transnational Action in Times of Crisis (London: Rowman & Littlefield), pp. 83–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kjeldstadli, K. (2018) ‘Norway 1850–1940: Six Types of Popular Resistance’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 201–44.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kjellberg, A. (2001) Fackliga organisationer och medlemmar i dagens Sverige (Lund: Arkiv).

    Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, K. (1999) Arbejdskonflikternes historie i Danmark: Arbejdskampe og arbejderbevægelse 1870–1940 (Copenhagen: SFAH).

    Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, K. (2021) Danish trade unionism 1870–1940 (Aalborg: Aalborg University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Knutsen, O. (2006) Class Voting in Western Europe (Oxford: Lexington Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Korpi, W. (1978) The Working Class in Welfare Capitalism: Work, Unions and Politics in Sweden (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).

    Google Scholar 

  • Korpi, W. (1983) The Democratic Class Struggle (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).

    Google Scholar 

  • Krake, K. (2016) Skandinavien i ekstremernes tidsalder: Systemkritik og demokratiforsvar i mellemkrigstiden, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern Denmark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilja, K. (1998) ‘Finland: Continuity and Modest Moves Towards Company-Level Corporatism’ in Ferner, A. and Hyman, R. (eds.) Changing Industrial Relations in Europe (Oxford: Blackwell), pp. 171–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Logue, J. (2019) ‘Trade Unions in the Nordic Countries’, nordics.info (https://nordics.info/show/artikel/trade-unions-in-the-nordic-region); updated by Einhorn, E. E., retrieved September 27, 2022.

  • Mattila, Aa. (1993) ‘Industrial Conflicts and Their Mediation in the Finnish Labour Market from the 1800’s to the 1980’s’ in Kettunen, P. (ed.) Strike and Social Change (Turku: Turku Provincial Museum), pp. 53–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (1986) ‘Workers and Industrialization in Scandinavia, 1750–1940’, in Hanagan, M. and Stephenson, C. (eds.) Proletarians and Protest: The Roots of Class Formation in an Industrializing World (New York: Greenwood Press), pp. 21–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (1992) Arbejdskonflikter i Skandinavien 1848–1980 (Odense: Odense Universitetsforlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (1993) ‘Industrial Conflict in Scandinavia 1848–1990’ in Kettunen, P. (ed.) Strike and Social Change (Turku: Turku Provincial Museum), pp. 27–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (1997) ‘Cycles of Struggle and Innovations in Industrial Relations in Denmark After World War II’, Scandinavian Journal of History, 22, pp. 31–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (1998) ‘Unions and New Shopfloor Strike Strategies and Learning Processes Among Public Employees’, Economic and Industrial Democracy: An International Journal, 19, 3, pp. 505–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (2005) ‘Working-Class Formation in Europe and Forms of Integration: History and Theory’, Labor History, 46, 3, pp. 277–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (2012) ‘Class and Social Movements in Scandinavia Since 1945’, Moving the Social: Journal of Social History and the History of Social Movements, 48, pp. 29–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (2018a) ‘Denmark 1914–1939: Popular Struggle in an Age of Mass Politics’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan), 73–102.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (2018b) ‘Denmark 1940–1946: War, Occupation and Liberation’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan), 103–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F. (2022) ‘The Nordic ‘Sonderweg’: Popular Struggle, State Building and Democracy in the Nordic Countries in a European Perspective, 1400–2000’ (Working Paper).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) (2018) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mjøset, L. (ed.) (1986) Norden dagen derpå. De nordiske økonomisk-politiske modellene og deres problemer på 70- og 80-tallet (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mjøset, L. (1987) ‘Nordic Economic Policies in the 1970s and 1980s’, International Organization, 41, 3, pp. 403–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen. N. K. (2009) Bonde, stat og hjem. Nordisk demokrati og nationalisme – fra pietisme til 2. verdenskrig (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nieminen, A. (2000) ‘Finnish Employer Confederations – Streamlining Inner Organization and Regulating National Capitalism’ in Jensen, C. S. (ed.) Arbejdsgivere i Norden. En sociologisk analyse af arbejdsgiverorganiseringen i Norge, Sverige, Finland og Danmark (Copenhagen: Nordisk Ministerråd), pp. 287–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olofsson, M. (2016) ‘Rösträttskravallerna i Stockholm 1902 och den återvunna demonstrationsrätten’ in Ericsson, M. and Pinto, A. B. (eds.) Politik underifrån. Kollektiva konfrontationer under Sveriges 1900-tal (Lund: Arkiv förlag), 31–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olstad, F. (1981) ‘Fra matopprør til streik’, Tidsskrift for Arbeiderbevegelsens Historie, 1, pp. 115–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Österberg, M. (2017) ‘Norden as a Transnational Space in the 1930s’ in Hilson, M., Neunsinger, S. and Vyff, I. (eds.) Labour, Unions and Politics Under the North Star: The Nordic Countries, 1700–2000 (New York/Oxford: Berghahn).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozaki, M. (1987) ‘Labour Relations in Public Service’, International Labour Review, 126, 3 and 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, B. S. and Holm, A. (1998) ‘Restraining Excesses: Resistance and Counter-Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Denmark 1940–1945’, Terrorism and Political Violence, 10, 1, pp. 60–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, A., Thörn, H. and Wahlström, M. (2018) ‘Sweden 1950–2015: Contentious Politics and Social Movements Between Confrontation and Conditioned Cooperation’ in Mikkelsen, F., Kjeldstadli, K. and Nyzell, S. (eds.) Popular Struggle and Democracy in Scandinavia, 1700–Present (London: Palgrave), pp. 377–432.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rønning, O. M. (2015) ‘Communism in the Nordic Countries 1917–1990: Communist Parties—Organisational Development and Electoral Support’ in Egge, Å. and Rybner, S. (eds.) Red Star in the North: Communism in the Nordic Countries (Stamsund: Orkana Akademisk), pp. 37–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saarela, T. (2015) ‘From Revolutions to Peaceful Roads—Communist Strategy in the Nordic Countries’, in Egge, Å. and Rybner, S. (eds.) Red Star in the North: Communism in the Nordic Countries (Stamsund: Orkana Akademisk), 120–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheuer, S. (2004) Strejker i Europa, LO-Dokumentation 2 (Copenhagen: LO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiller, B. (1967) Storstrejken 1909: Förhistoria och orsaker (Göteborg: Elander).

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonson, B. (1985) Socialdemokratin och maktövertagandet: SAP:s politiska strategi 1889–1911 (Göteborg: Historiska institutionen).

    Google Scholar 

  • Soikkanen, H. (1993) ‘Historical Review of Strikes in Finland’ in Kettunen, P. (ed.) Strike and Social Change (Turku: Turku Provincial Museum), pp. 17–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokke, T. Aa. and Thörnqvist, C. (2001) ‘Strikes and Collective Bargaining in the Nordic Countries’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 7, 3, pp. 245–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, A. E. (2014) ‘Fra velfærdsbevægelse til ligelønsbevægelse’, Temp, 9, pp. 142–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teräs, K. (1993) ‘Industrial Actionism and Industrial Conflicts in Finland’ in Kettunen, P. (ed.) Strike and Social Change (Turku: Turku Provincial Museum), pp. 71–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thörnqvist, C. (1994) Arbetarna lämnar fabriken. Strejkrörelser i Sverige under efterkrigstiden, deres bakgrund, förlopp och føljder (Göteborg: Historiska institutionen).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tikka, M. (2017) ‘Strike in Finland, Revolution in Russia: The Role of Workers in the 1905 General Strike in the Grand Duchy of Finland’ in Hilson, M., Neunsinger, S. and Vyff, I. (eds.) Labour, Unions and Politics Under the North Star (New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books), pp. 197–217.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, H. (2021) A Global Radical Waterfront: The International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers and the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, 1921–1937 (Leiden: Brill).

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Copenhagen, Denmark

    Flemming Mikkelsen

  2. The Workers Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jesper Jørgensen

Authors
  1. Flemming Mikkelsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jesper Jørgensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jesper Jørgensen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Workers Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jesper Jørgensen

  2. Copenhagen, Denmark

    Flemming Mikkelsen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mikkelsen, F., Jørgensen, J. (2023). Labor Market Struggles and Labor Market Relations in the Nordic Countries, 1848–2020: Trends and Fluctuations. In: Jørgensen, J., Mikkelsen, F. (eds) Trade Union Activism in the Nordic Countries since 1900. Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08987-9_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08987-9_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08986-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08987-9

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation