The fundamental question explored in the book concerns the meaning of co-operation. Was it a social movement or an economic enterprise? Did it aspire to challenge capitalism or to reform it? Did it contain at its heart a political vision for the transformation of society or was it simply a practical guide for organising a business?

Introduction: a transnational approach to co-operative history1 Co-operation in the Nordic countries before 1914: international networks and the transmission of ideas2 Co-operative internationalism in practice: the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) before and after the First World War3 The politics of international co-operation: neutrality and crisis 4 Nordisk Andelsforbund (NAF), co-operative trade and Nordic co-operation during the interwar period5 Co-operation and the emergence of the Nordic ‘middle way’ConclusionBibliography Index

This book examines the history of co-operation in the broad context of the history of consumerism and consumption, of internationalism and the development of international organisations, and debates about international trade during the inter-war period. It is based on primary archive sources drawn from five different countries in five different languages and considers the history of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) with particular reference to the Nordic countries, a region where co-operation was very strong. In doing so, it offers a new perspective on the emergence of international interest in the Nordic region during the 1930s in particular. The fundamental question explored in the book concerns the meaning of co-operation. Was it a social movement or an economic enterprise? Did it aspire to challenge capitalism or to reform it? Did it contain at its heart a political vision for the transformation of society or was it simply a practical guide for organising a business? Hilson argues that it was both, but that an examination of the debates over the different meanings of co-operation can also illuminate broader questions about the emergence of consumer interests in the first half of the twentieth century, especially in a transnational context.

‘The study convincingly situates the co-operative movements of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and – although less extensively – Norway in the various politics and practices of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).’Frederik Forrai Ørskov, University of Helsinki, Finland, Scandinavian Journal of History, 2019