Ok, so this isn’t technically a political sticker, but the photo is too good not to use! (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022).
The final stop on my Scandinavian jaunt was Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. There was a General Election in Sweden on the 11th of September 2022, and when we were there in mid-August the city was covered in campaign posters. It was interesting to think about how ‘official’ political campaigns use the streets to convey messages compared to political stickers. What it really emphasised to me was the wide variety of ways in which public spaces and city streets are politicised.
The text on this sticker translates to “No to war! No to NATO! Sweden will not join the US war alliance”. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 sparked heated debates about whether or not Scandinavian countries should join NATO (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022)
This sticker is also referencing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or at least the rule of Russian president Putin. In the photo, a child-sized Putin is being praised by an adult-sized Hitler, drawing a link between Putin and fascism (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 15/08/2022).This simple representation of the trans flag has been made with coloured pencils or crayons and attached to a lamppost with sellotape. At a time when trans people and their rights are under sustained and vicious attacks, displaying the flag is an act of resistance (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022). This sticker was produced by the Stockholm group of Fridays for Future, and international network of school strikes for climate. The very first school striker, Greta Thunberg, was born in Stockholm, although her influence now goes much further (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022)This sticker directly references Greta Thunberg. I found the design a little confusing, but I suppose I got the message eventually (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 14/08/2022).
These stickers were made by the Swedish Extinction Rebellion. The text on the top stickers translates to “Rebelling for the Climate. Become a Climate Rebel!” The first part of the second sticker proved too difficult for Google Translate, so I’m not sure what it says (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 14/08/2022).
This sticker also relates to climate change, but it is more solution oriented. It translates to “Wind power? Yes thanks.” This design of a smiley face on a round yellow sticker is quite common, although the text often changes (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022).
This sticker was made by a German anti-fascist group. The text translates to ‘Antifascist Network.” Lichtenberg is a neighbourhood in Berlin. This design is playing with the logo for Paramount, a well-known American film and television company founded in 1902. (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 14/08/2022).
This sticker is advertising a European Citizens’ Initiative to ban fur farming and the sale of fur in the EU. The European Citizens’ Initiative is basically a form of petition. If 1 million citizens of at least 7 member states sign the initiative, then the European Commission has to propose a legal act. The text is in Finnish, and translates to “The time of furs is over. Sign the citizens’ initiative.” More information can be found at https://furfreeeurope.fi/ (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 16/08/2022).
This sticker was produced by Ung Vänster (Young Left), the youth wing of the Swedish labour movement. As the sticker implies, it is a feminist and socialist group (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 16/08/2022).This sticker was also produced by Ung Vänster. The text translates to “Claim your rights! Free public transport, sports and culture. Organise yourself in Ung Vänster” (Well Google Translate thinks the first part is “Claim your steering wheel!” but after looking at the group’s website, I think rights makes more sense than steering wheel!) (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022).I thought this was a nice defiant note to end the blog post on! (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 13/08/2022).
University Teacher in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Interested in the cultural, historical, and political geographies of resistance.
View all posts by Hannah Awcock
Turbulent Isles 