Custodians of Imperial Worldmaking? Scandinavian Officials & The League’s Global Ordering

This article studies key Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian officials in the League of Nations Secretariat. Combining digital prosopographical and biographical approaches, the article re-reads their contribution to the League’s international work in light of the recent historiographical focus on the organization as a liberal-imperial endeavour. Following four officials through their work on opium trade, minorities rights, health governance, and the mandates system, it becomes apparent that they served very specific roles as custodians of imperial worldmaking within the League. Focussing on the systemic requirements of the League, rather than the innate qualities of Scandinavian internationalism, this article argues that we should reconsider the roots of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway’s international engagement in the interwar period and beyond.