The Aland Islands question in international politics has been intermittently discussed, negotiated, and settled since the eighteenth century. The Islands lie in the Baltic Sea, halfway between Sweden and Finland, at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia. They have been accorded importance by international dispute and finally by international treaty. In the present thesis the position of the Aland Islands in the Scandinavian region, from the time of settlement to the present, is considered. Major events and agreements are included to provide a background for the development of the dispute which arose over the Islands in the early twentieth century. Upon close investigation, the Aland Islands question is found to be composed of a number of elements, among which are the issues of territorial sovereignty and claim, neutralization, demilitarization, ambitions of self-determination, minority rights, and the mechanics of settlement in a post-war climate. All of those factors combined to compose the dispute over the Islands between Sweden and Finland, which was settled in 1921, and which has remained in relative quiescence since that time. In the period since 1921, the Islands with their Swedish-speaking population have constituted a special autonomous province in the Republic of Finland. The Islands in the mid-twentieth century are a kind of showcase for workable autonomy. The purpose of this thesis is to consider the factors which determined the final settlement of the question and to examine the area from the vantage point of forty-eight years later. The main approaches in the thesis are in the areas of history, international politics, international law, and domestic politics. These are not mutually exclusive; rather they are recurring foci in the development of the Aland Islands question. By these foci an attempt has been made to explore and describe the position of the Aland Islands today, based on what has gone before, nationally, regionally, and internationally.

Fornföreningen Fibula on the Aland Islands contacts the author because its members want to create a museum.The purpose of this two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies is to shed light on what a museum really is. The research question I have answered is “what is a museum and is this what Fibula really wants in their reconstructed Viking village?”. Based on interview material, ethnographic field studies, relevant research in the subject and documents from Fibula, I have answered the research question. My theory is grounded and the methods are qualitative.The result of the analysis is that a museum is a non-profit, permanent institution mediating knowledge. It is a heritage value protector and a museum is obligated to take care of and conserve its museum objects and to safeguard the heritage professionally. A museum has to respect and understand the heritage it manages. Research anddocumentation of the museum collections is the key to maintain professionalism. A museum is always active and it can be a participating museum where visitors are included in the museums democratic processes. Fibula is a heritage entrepreneur and the association will find it difficult to manage a museum professionally due to that reason. Fibulas members have an existing sense of place for the Viking village in Kvarnbo and its surroundings. To bring attention to this fact in the future a museum, a visitor center, a walking trail or a development of the Viking village into a living history museum or an (archaeological) open air museum could be relevant. At the moment it seems doubtful however that Fibula and its members got the time, the commitment, the resources and the knowledge it takes to run a museum. Perhaps a museum can be created in the future if respect and understanding of heritage value will come to pass. Entrepreneurship and the sense of place alone don’t lead all the way to a museum.