I defended my thesis on administration and society in 18th century Iceland at Stockholm University in 1985. In 1993 I moved to Lund and became professor here in 2000; emeritus in 2020. My research interests have been pre-industrial society, especially its political culture and the possibilities of common people to interact with the authorities, but also pre-national identities. The geographical scope has not only been Sweden but also the Nordic area as a whole. I have studied influence and political culture in Sweden and Denmark-Norway in the 18th century, local self government in the 19th century, the dissolution of the Union of Kalmar in the 16th century, and identities in the process of Skåne’s transfer from Denmark to Sweden in the 17th century. My latest book concerns the European state formation process from the middle ages until the French revolution. With Liesbeth Geevers, I am working in a project on the role of princely dynasties in state formation.