NEOLAiA

Through the European university alliance NEOLAiA, Senior lecturer Patrik Winton from Örebro University became aware of Bielefeld University as an intellectually stimulating place for his research. During his one-month stay as a visiting scholar, he is working on his current book project and exchanging ideas with colleagues from Bielefeld University's Department of History. He is also a partner in the joint Blended Intensive Programme (BiP) series European History, Memory and Historiography. We spoke with the Swedish historian about his stay in Bielefeld, the role of academic networks in fostering international collaboration, and the added value of European research partnerships.

You are currently visiting Bielefeld University as part of the European University Alliance NEOLAiA. What attracted you most to this exchange, and how is your stay here helping to advance your current research project?

Patrik Winton: What most attracted me to a stay at Bielefeld University was the ability to combine time for writing and the opportunities to discuss several key topics with scholars engaged in all fields of the history discipline. The History Department offers so many interesting colloquiums, workshops and conferences. Although I have not been able to participate in every event, the ones I have attended have led me to new insights and perspectives on how to interpret the past. I presented my current research project at the colloquium for the medieval and early modern period (Mittelalter und Frühe Neuzeit), and I received many good questions from both students and members of the faculty, which has helped me with my writing.

While in Bielefeld, you are working on your book project The Rise and Fall of the Swedish Fiscal-Military State, c. 1700–1850. What is the project about, and why do you think this topic remains relevant today?

Patrik Winton: The book explores two processes. First the increasing reliance on credit to fight wars during the eighteenth century. In Sweden, just as in many other European states, it became necessary to distribute financial instruments, such as paper money and government bonds, to broader groups of people than before in order to finance warfare. This rise of financial markets did not just affect international relations and the economic situation in the warring states, but also the existing power relations. The second process I explore in the project focuses on the Swedish decision to dismantle the system of government borrowing after 1815, and how this contributed to a change in Sweden’s foreign policy. Instead of participating in large-scale warfare, the state adopted a policy of neutrality, and channeled resources into infrastructure and mass education during the nineteenth century. Financial markets continue to play an important role in today’s world. Governments, companies and individuals rely on credit to finance discrepancies between incomes and expenditures. In order to understand how these markets function and what societal impact they have it is important to study how these processes worked in the past. By studying past relationships it is easier to demystify and explain the operations of today’s complex global financial markets.

One of NEOLAiA's aims is to strengthen international collaboration in research and teaching. What opportunities do you see in European university alliances like this—for researchers as well as for students?

Patrik Winton: I think European university alliances is a great way to make it easier for both researchers and students to participate in international collaboration. In order for international collaboration to work, it is necessary to build relationships not just on an administrative level, but more crucible, on the grass root level. In other words, it is important to foster exchanges between individual scholars who are interested in similar themes and problems, and who can create joint courses, workshops and research projects that further develop the collaboration. I think that the success of our Blended Intensive Programme in History has been this bottom-up approach to collaboration, but also that the NEOLAiA alliance has provided a very valuable framework for this collaboration to develop. Without NEOLAiA, I do not think that the relationships in History between Bielefeld, Örebro, Ostrava, Suceava and Tours would have developed. Moreover, Blended Intensive Programmes is a great way for students to get the experience of international collaboration. It is especially valuable for students, who might be cautious about committing to a longer exchange program, to get the opportunity to participate in international collaboration.

Senior lecturer Patrik Winton from Örebro University. Photo: Nienhaus