Neutralitet: Ideal eller verklighet? En kvalitativ textanalys av Svenska Röda korset humanitära hjälpaktioner 1935-1944

Sammanfattning: The Swedish Red Cross (SRK) has worked for over a century to improve Swedishsociety and at the same time been involved in aid operations for several internationalhumanitarian disasters and crises. SRK is meant to be a stateless and neutralorganization, but has at the same time since its inception in 1864 SRK had a closecollaboration with the Swedish government. This essay aims to understand how thiscooperation has affected SRK's aid actions in war and if it has affected their neutralityin choosing sides in the wars. The essay's investigation deals with three areas thatwere affected by war and where SRK chose to carry out aid operations. The sourcematerial has been analyzed based on the qualitative text analysis method where thesource material is selected according to the three areas; Abyssinia, Finland andGreece. Furthermore, the empirical evidence has been analyzed based on Joseph S.Nye Jr. Theory of interdependence to better and at a deeper level understandcooperation. The analysis is based on the four concepts that Nye Jr. built his theorybased on: sources, benefits, relative costs, and symmetries. The study shows that therewas a mutual need for a collaboration between SRK and the Swedish state, whichaffected SRK's neutrality into whom and where the aid actions should be sent.