In memory of Gunnar Sjöstedt
Gunnar Sjöstedt, a long-time and widely-respected researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, has died at the age of 79. Gunnar was active until recently at the institute, where he spent many decades inspiring other researchers and developing the institute’s research activities.
Gunnar Sjöstedt’s long, impressive and multifaceted research career began with studies at Stockholm University, the Stockholm School of Economics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1973, he defended his dissertation in political science on the topic of the functioning and wider effects of OECD cooperation. From then, Gunnar was active at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) in Stockholm, where he helped to build a robust and vibrant research environment in collaboration with younger and more seasoned researchers alike.
In his own research, Gunnar was often ahead of his time. In the early 1970s, research on international politics was relatively neglected in Sweden. Gunnar was a true pioneer, who at an early stage made significant contributions to several burgeoning fields of research - especially around multilateral negotiations, diplomacy, and non-military means of power. In those fields, which he saw as partly related, Gunnar made significant breakthroughs with an international impact. His 1976 work on the European Economic Community’s external effects became the foundational reference for subsequent work on ‘EU actorness’ for instance. His early work on environmental issues, international trade policy, and negotiation dynamics pre-dated general interest in those areas and only grew over time. He is without doubt one of the more highly cited social scientists in Sweden.
Without Gunnar's efforts, the research environment of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs would never have had the breadth and strength, as well as the international and societally relevant profile, it has today. From his early career, Gunnar was an internationally high-profile researcher and had an extensive personal network, which among other things resulted in a large number of research projects and internationally co-authored publications, often with himself in a leading position. A large part of his international contribution came from being a researcher in a program on international negotiations at the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IASA), located in Vienna, in parallel with his activities at UI. He participated in countless research projects, conferences and seminars, with participants as diverse as scholars and diplomats, political elites and business people.
Gunnar showed great curiosity throughout his life's work. He had an open mind and always took the time to listen to colleagues and showed great interest in both scholarly and personal issues – no matter how far from his own interest. His hallmark trait was warm support and encouragement to all those he encountered. Gunnar was unpretentious, delighted in others’ accomplishments, and took everyone’s thoughts seriously not matter their status or rank. Many social scientists in Sweden and abroad owe Gunnar for the support and practical assistance he lent them in their career.
We will all miss Gunnar’s warm and infectious laugh along with his open-door policy to anyone who needed counsel. His loss is deeply felt, but his influence will live on not just through his publications – but also through the inspiration he provided to many of us.
From his colleagues, via Johan Eriksson, Jakob Hallgren, Jan Hallenberg, Gunilla Herolf, Lena Jonson, Gunilla Reischl, Mark Rhinard, Bengt Sundelius
Selected Works
Sjöstedt, G., & Penetrante, A. M. (2013). Strategic Facilitation of Climate Change Negotiations: an Introduction. In Climate Change Negotiations (pp. 3–40). London: Routledge.
Sjöstedt, G. (1977). The External Role of the European Community. Westmead UK: Saxon House.
Sjöstedt, G. (1974). Integration and Actor Capability: a survey of the theories of regional and international cooperation. Stockholm: Swedish Institute of International Affairs.
Sjöstedt, G. (1998). The EU Negotiates Climate Change. Cooperation and Conflict, 33(3), 227–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836798033003001
Rhinard, M., & Sjöstedt, G. (2019). The EU as a Global Actor: A new conceptualisation five decades after “actorness.” Working Papers of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, 2019(6), Available at www.ui.se. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34695.44966
Sjöstedt, G. (2002). Asymetry in Multinational Negotiation Between North and South at UNCED. In I. W. Zartman & J. Z. Rubin (Eds.), Power and Negotiation (pp. 177–197). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.