Abstract

In 1944, Gunnar Myrdal issued a warning to optimists, who expected the United States to shepherd the entire world into a stable and prosperous peacetime. Yet in Varning för fredsoptimism Myrdal not only warned of a recession but also suggested that Sweden and the United States could join hands in the spirit of “democratic internationalism.” In doing so, Myrdal navigated the path for a small, rich, old, and neutral state in the post-war world and argued that the United States would not succumb to the temptations of “great power imperialism.” Instead the United States could help to remake the world in Sweden’s image.

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