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    "localId": "486498019",
    "label": "Report, OSI - 1/49, Central Intelligence Agency, An Estimate of Swedish Capabilities in Science",
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    "id": "486498019",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report, OSI - 1/49, Central Intelligence Agency, An Estimate of Swedish Capabilities in Science",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/486498019",
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        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 9,
            "logicalDate": "1949-08-09",
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            "year": 1949
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    "seq": 9,
    "pageIndex": 0,
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    "ocrText": "SECRET\nSUMMARY\nSweden is devoting considerable effort to the expansion and modernization of its\nresearch program in all scientific fields. Among the factors which make that country\na dominant figure in the scientific field in Northern Europe is the degree of coordination\nachieved in the planning and carrying out of a unified research program. In Sweden,\nperhaps more than in other countries, research is organized cooperatively among\nEducation, Government, and Industry. The trend is toward ever-increasing coordina-\ntion of scientific effort, with the Government exercising a major role through financial\nsupport of institutes and individuals, partial control of nominally private institutions,\nment administrators.\nand the formation of policy committees composed of scientific specialists and govern-\nIt is generally agreed that Swedish scientific research is of the highest quality.\nSwedish scientists, although few in number, are thoroughly trained and highly re-\nspected. The fact that Swedish contributions in any particular field are in the main\nof a very high order is directly attributable to a disciplined and intensive educational\nsystem.\nSome progress is being made in major fields of interest but work to date is almost\nentirely along established lines of endeavor, and because of limited manpower and\neconomic resources, certain areas of investigation remain relatively untouched.\nThe bulk of Swedish research is primarily practical inasmuch as the economy\ncannot support a large effort on non-industrial or non-applied research, and is largely\ndevoted to the development of: (1) important exports, i.e., lumber, steel, and engineer-\ning products; (2) substitute and synthetic fuels; and (3) food and agriculture.\nOutstanding recent contributions to original research have included the developing\nof new tools and new techniques in the biochemical and physiochemical study of\nmacromolecules and high-molecular-weight materials. In the field of applied\nresearch, Sweden has contributed important practical developments in forestry and\nforest products. There are no indications that Sweden is working on the atomic-energy\nproblem from the point of view of bomb production, but because of the acute fuels\nshortage, chief interest lies in developing a substitute for coal and oil.\nSwedish scientists are on the whole friendly to the Western Community of Nations\nand hold little brief for Communism. Nevertheless, some flow of information and\ntechnical material must be expected to pass to the Soviet Union in so-called trade\n\"agreements\" and the like.\nThe resources of Sweden are on the whole slight, and these limitations must be\nrecognized in assessing the strategic importance of the country. Despite the handicaps\nof small size and small budget, Swedish science is believed to be well worth encouraging\nand aiding, but, on the other hand, is not of sufficient importance to risk extensive\ninvolvement on the part of the United States should trouble threaten.\nNote: The intelligence organizations of the Departments of State, Army, Navy, and the Air Force\nhave concurred in this report.\n1\nSECRET"
}