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The wars between Denmark and the German states during the 19th century raised the issue in the Swedish public opinion of a potential Swedish intervention and of Scandinavism. This study examined the formation of opinion in Swedish newspapers during the years 1848-1850 and 1864 in order to identify similarities and differences in the reporting of the two wars. Furthermore, the study has aimed to examine which aspects were highlighted when it came to the possibility of a Swedish intervention and about the influence of Scandinavism surrounding this topic. The newspapers that were used as source material for the period 1848-1850 were Aftonbladet, Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning, Öresundsposten and Stockholms Aftonpost while Aftonbladet, Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning and Nya Dagligt Allehanda were used as examples for the opinions during the war of 1864.

The study is focusing on external and internal influencing factors based on the realistic and idealistic traditions. Since the theory primarily deals with the view of a nation’s security and of international politics, it was modified so it could explain the newspapers perceptions of those very same issues. The results show that the opinion was ambivalent in its reporting on the external influencing factors during both wars, as both realistic and idealistic arguments were presented ongoingly. Based on the internal influencing factors, the results show that public opinion during the first war was predominantly idealistic in favour of a Swedish intervention. The most vital arguments for this were Scandinavism and the opinion formation against a norm-breaker, in this case the German states according to the newspapers. The public opinion had, however, changed during the second war to a more realistic point of view. Sweden’s self-interest and strategic situation were now being highlighted in order to emphasize that Sweden should not participate in the war. However, the results show that there were also exceptions for both periods and that the public opinion did not fully agree on the questions revolving a Swedish intervention or on Scandinavism.