The History of Finland -- Suomen Historia
New Book by Historian Jason Lavery, Ph.D.

Other Publications by Jason Lavery

Jason Lavery has written numerous other publications:
Germany's Northern Challenge - book by Jason Lavery
Reviews of Germany's Northern Challenge
Articles by Jason Lavery
Book Reviews by Jason Lavery

Germany's Northern Challenge: The Holy Roman Empire and the Scandinavian Struggle for the Baltic, 1563-1576.

The way nation states handle foreign crises has kept the best of minds busy over the years.

In this book, author Jason Lavery draws on previously unknown documents to analyze how the Roman Empire dealt with the Scandinavian struggle for the Baltic.

Both Denmark and Sweden sought to gain control of the Baltic area between 1563 and 1576. Eventually, and partially through the efforts of the Roman Empire, the two parties signed a peace treaty.

The Holy Roman Empire consisted of a confederal structure that proved challenging when pursuing foreign politics. It had to balance two aspects: Initiatives and consensus.

Initiatives to resolve the rivalries between Denmark and Sweded required consensus. Consensus, in turn, could only be achieved through the pursuit of common aims while maintaining internal stability.

Considering the fact that the Holy Roman Empire consisted of dozens of small entitites, it becomes obvious that the decision-makers had to balance the needs of the Empire and the needs of their own locals - a process that sounds only all too familiar to modern ears.


Reviews of Germany's Northern Challenge

Erik Thomson in Austrian History Yearbook 36 (2005): 243-244.
Carsten Jahnke in Hansische Geschichtsblätter 122 (2004): 264.
Joachim Whaley in Sixteenth Century Journal 35, no. 2 (2004): 528-529.
Heiko Droste in The Journal of Baltic Studies 35, no. 1 (2004): 82-83.
Marsha Frey in The American Historical Review 109, no. 2 (2004): 598.
Michael Hundt in Zeitschrift des Vereins für Lübeckische Geschichte und Altertumskunde 83 (2003): 290-291.
David Whitford in H-German and H-Review (August 2003): href="http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?pat%112971061444354
Otfried Czaika in Suomen krikkohistoriallisen seuran vuosikirja 92 (2002): 280-282.

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Articles by Jason Lavery

“What I like about Finland’s History.” Welcome to Finland, Forthcoming.

“The Reformation in Finland—A Historiography of Continuities.” article forthcoming in Festschrift for Paul Bushkovitch.

Entries “Åland Islands,” “Karelia,” “Lutheran Church,” “Orthodox Church,” and “Sauna.” In: The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Nordic Culture, edited by Helena Forsås-Scott and Mary Hilson. London: Hurst, 2012.

“Early Modern Scandinavia—A Prognostication on a Small Field.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 40, no 1 (2009): 258-259.

“Opetus ja yliopiston tulevaisuus.” Yliopisto, no. 8 (2009): 39.

“The Branding of a Nation.” Helsinki Times, 6 August 2009.

“Finland’s Global Mediator.” Scandinavian Review 96, no. 1 (2009): 31-33.

“Yksilön ja yhteisön malli.” Yliopisto, no. 3 (2009): 50.

The Future of Luther Studies. Co-editors Risto Saarinen and Jason Lavery. Dialog: A Journal of Theology, Summer 2008.

“Vaikea kieli—vai vaikea kansa?” Yliopisto, no. 11 (2008): 41.

“Tapaus Schur ja menetetty mahdollisuus” Yliopisto, no. 6-7 (2008): 53.

“Hyvinvoinnin suodattama USA-tietoa.” Ydin, no. 1 (2008): 28-39.

“1918, vaiennettu aihe?” Yliopisto, no. 2 (2008): 33.

“Column.” ProAcademia: News from the Academy of Finland, no. 2 (2007): 26-27.

“Finland 1917-1919: Three Conflicts, One Country.” Scandinavian Review 94, no. 3 (2007): 6-14.

“A Not-So-Distant Mirror: Finland between the World Wars.” Public lecture in series “Finland’s Pasts and Presents,” University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Feb. 10 2004. Lecture available at http://depts.washington.edu/scand/new/pastsandpresents

"Charles V and Scandinavian Historiography," In The Histories of Charles V, edited by C. Scott Dixon and Martina Fuchs. Münster: Achendorff, 2005, 191-201.
Available from Amazon.de

"Euro-Atlanttisen vuoropuhelum tulevaisuus." Historiallinen aikakauskirja 103, no. 4 (2005): 435-436.

"Kaiser Maximilian II. und Lübeck während des Nordischen Siebenjährigen Krieges (1653-1570)." Zeitschrift des Vereins für Lübeckische Geschichte und Altertumskunde 83 (2003): 83-100.
Available from Amazon.de.

"All of the President's Historians: The Debate over Urho Kekkonen." Scandinavian Studies 75, no. 3 (2003):375-398.
Read at www.findarticles.com.

"Kansainväliset vaikutteet suomalaisen ansallisen minäkuvan muutoksiin: silminnäk raportti." Kalajokilaakso, 15 October 2003, 2.

"Die Rolle der Konfession in der Aussenpolitik Dänemarks und Schwedens 1570-1618." In Dimensionen der europäischen Aussenpolitik zur Zeit der Wende vom 16. zum 17. Jahrhundert, edited by Friederich Beiderbeck et al. Berlin: Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2003, 247-263.
Available from Amazon.de.

"Remembering Kekkonen on the 100th Anniversary of his Birthday." Scandinavian Review 88, no. 3 (2001):5-12.
Read at www.findarticles.com.

"Emperor Maximilian II and the Danish-Swedish Struggle for Baltic Hegemony 1563-1576." Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 48 (2000): 197-228.

"Finland at the Polls: A New President, a New Presidency." Scandinavian Review 87, no. 3 (2000), 4-9.
Available at www.findarticles.com.

"Finnish-German Submarine Cooperation 1923-1935." Scandinavian Studies 71, no. 4 (1999): 393-418.
Available at www.findarticles.com.

"Finland at Eighty: A More Confident and Open Nation." Scandinavian Review 85, no. 2 (1997): 13-19.
Available at www.findarticles.com.

Editor or Co-Editor of Publications

Series Editor, Welsh Academic Press, 2009-present

The Future of Luther Studies, Co-editors Risto Saarinen and Jason Lavery, article collection in Dialog: A Journal of Theology, Summer 2008.


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Book Reviews by Jason Lavery

Review of Luterilaisuuden ABC: Synkkä ja harmaa sanakirja, by Jaakko Heinimäki and Jari Jolkkonen. Suomen kirkkohistoriallisen seuran vuosikirja 99 (2009), Forthcoming.

Review of Suomi ja Euroopan kirkollinen jälleenrakentaminen 1945-48, by Juha Meriläinen. Teologinen aikakauskirja, Forthcoming.

Review of Auttamisen vallankumous: Luterilaisuuden yritys ratkaista köyhyyden ongelmat, by Kaarlo Arffman. American Historical Review, Forthcoming.

Review of Valoa itään? Kansanlähetys ja Neuvostoliitto 1967-1973, by Piia Latvala. Scandinavian Studies 81, no. 1 (2009): 135-137.

Review of Sotasaalista Itä-Karjalasta: Suomalaistutkijat miehitetyillä alueilla 1941–1944, by Tenho Pimiä. Suomen kirkkohistoriallisen seuran vuosikirja 98 (2008): 261-262.

Review of Historian kuolema ja kulttuurien taistelu: Kirjoituksia historiasta ja nykypäivästä, by Seikko Eskola. Suomen kirkkohistoriallisen seuran vuosikirja 97 (2007): 329-330.

Review of Suljetut ovet: Pohjoismaiden romanipolitiikka 1500-luvulta EU-aikaan, by Panu Pulma. American Historical Review 112, no. 3 (2007): 936-937.

Review of Der Dreissigjährige Krieg im Herzogtum Berg und in seinen Nachbarregionen, by Stefan Ehrenpreis, ed. H-German 17 January 2005.
Read as a pdf file from H-German.

Review of Military Migration and State Formation: The British Military Community in Seventeenth-Century Sweden, by Mary Elizabeth Ailes. Scandinavian Studies 75, no. 4 (2003): 609-611.
Available at www.findarticles.com.

Review of David Chytræus und die Universität Rostock in ihren Beziehungen zum schwedischen Reich, by Otfried Czaika. Scandinavian Studies 75, no. 1 (2003): 122-124. Available at www.findarticles.com.

Review of Regional Integration in Early Modern Scandinavia, by Finn-Einar Eliassen, Jørgen Mikkelsen, and Bjørn Poulsen, eds. Germanic Notes and Reviews 34, no. 1 (2003): 64-66.

Review of Emperor Maximilian II, by Paul Sutter Fichtner. Journal of Military History 66, no. 2 (2002): 543-544.

Review of Finlands Ryska Fordringar: Ekonomisk uppgörelse i ett jämförande internationellt samanhang, by Mikael Korhonen. Scandinavian Studies 72, no. 2 (2000): 235-236.

Review of Finlands Historia, vol. 3, Scandinavian Studies 70, no. 2 (1998): 274-275.
Availabe at www.findarticles.com.

Review of Finlands Historia, vols. 1-2, Scandinavian STudies 69, no. 4 (1997): 487-490.
Availabe at www.findarticles.com.

Review of Tie Tampereelle: Dokumentoitu kuvaus Tampereen antautumiseen johtaneista sotatapahtumista Suomen sisällissodassa 1918, by Heikki Ylikangas. Scandinavian Studies 67, no. 2 (1995): 253-255.
Available at www.findarticles.com.

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Chat with the author at The History of Finland, Germany's Northern Challenge, etc. at jason.lavery@okstate.edu
Website created December 2006; last revision December 2008

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