“Adoption is often treated as a private family matter, but this project reframes it as a politically charged practice connecting intimate relationships to global power dynamics,” says Kasper Eriksen.
He has received funding through the EU's Marie Curie scheme for his postdoctoral project "Race, Kinship, and Diplomacy" to be carried out at the University of Oslo.
Focusing on Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, Kasper Eriksen will explore how adoption became entangled with Nordic humanitarian self-images, in the period between 1960 and 2000.
Lived experiences, foreign policy and international law
The goals of the research are to examine the diplomatic and political consequences of Scandinavian adoption practices, and to challenge idealized notions of Nordic exceptionalism.
“Recent national inquiries in Denmark, Norway and Sweden have uncovered systemic irregularities and abuses in adoption practices. We want to contribute more knowledge about this”, says Eriksen, and continues:
“We also want to generate policy-relevant insights for contemporary debates on transparency, redress, and human rights”.
Eriksen want to bridge lived experiences, and foreign policy and international law.
“Through the project, we want to expand diplomatic history to include adoptees, families, non-governmental organisations and their stories”, Eriksen explains.
New knowledge with lasting impact
Dean of research at the Faculty of Humanities, Ada Nissen, is very pleased with the award.
“The project will generate new knowledge with lasting academic, societal, and policy impact,” she says, adding:
“At the same time, it will contribute knowledge that can be used in ongoing reforms in adoption governance.”
The project is carried out in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History with Professor Hanne Hagtvedt Vik as mentor.