Håkan A. Bengtsson
CEO Arenagruppen
Stockholm, Sweden
hakan.bengtsson@arenagruppen.se
Håkan A Bengtsson is a writer and author and CEO of the progressive Arena Group. He appeared in the anthology "Europe and the War in Ukraine. From Russian Aggression to a New Eastern Policy" (FEPS, 2023).
On March 11 2024, the Swedish flag was raised outside the Nato Headquarters in Brussels. Sweden had become the Alliance’s 32nd member. The decision of Sweden and Finland to apply for membership of NATO took place within the space of a few weeks in the spring of 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However while Finland’s membership was ratified as early as April 4th 2023, it took almost a whole year more before Sweden was welcomed into NATO. Turkey and Hungary took the opportunity to put pressure on Sweden which delayed Sweden’s entry into the alliance.
Membership of NATO represents a paradigm shift in Sweden’s foreign policy. The previous Swedish doctrine of “nonallied in peace aiming for neutrality in war” is now a thing of the past. It had wide public support, even if individual commentators and recently several political parties argued in favour of joining NATO. This security and defence doctrine may be said to constitute a substantial element in Sweden’s self-image. Not least since Sweden’s two hundred year history of peace was considered a success. It is generally considered to have “served Sweden well”
Behind this change in the doctrine of security policy lies a long-term concern about developments in Russia and Sweden’s vulnerable geopolitical situation. Finland declared its intention to join NATO at an early stage. There was also political pressure in Sweden to also do so. A report from the ”European council on Foreign relations” reveals that Sweden is one of the countries where support for Ukraine is greatest.
This is in fact a new chapter in Swedish – and in Nordic - history. Now all the Scandinavian countries are members of the same defence alliance, extending from the Baltic Sea to large tracts of the Arctic region, the strategic importance of which has increased and where Russia has been building up its military presence. Sweden’s security has been enhanced by its membership of NATO. Thanks to Nato Sweden and Finland are protected by a high threshold for Russia to step over, a protection which Ukraine did not have. All the indications are that Russia’s conflict with the west will continue for the foreseeable future which is an important reason why Sweden has revised its doctrine on security policy.
Sweden’s non-alignment status dates back to the beginning of the 19th century when Karl Johan XIV declared that Sweden had no intention of retaking Finland which had been integrated into the Russian Empire in 1809. During World War I a non-socialist government declared Sweden neutral, a decision supported by the Social Democrats. Sweden also kept out of World War II. But its actions during the war have been the object of constant discussion and criticism subsequently. German troops were, for example, allowed to pass through Sweden and the export of iron ore to Nazi Germany continued throughout the war.
After World War II Sweden was in favour of and hoped for a Nordic defensive alliance. However Denmark and Norway which had both been occupied by Germany decided to join NATO. Sweden was unwilling to follow suit and Finland was not able to join NATO. The two countries have strong historical ties. Particularly during recent years, the Swedish and Finish defence cooperation have developed. When Finland announced its intention to join NATO, an essential pillar in the Swedish defence strategy disappeared.
After 1945 Finland was subjected to considerable pressure from the Soviet Union. But Sweden’s relationship with the Soviet Union was complicated and characterised by caution notwithstanding recurrent conflicts. For example, in 1981 a submarine armed with nuclear weapons ran aground in Gåsefjärden off Karlskrona, in a restricted military area.
Sweden’s security strategy before the fall of the Berlin Wall continued to be based on nonalignment and neutrality. Sweden had built a formidable defence capability, with a particularly strong air defence and a well developed naval capacity. Sweden had also developed its own defence industry to an high technological level. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden disarmed and abandoned conscription. This was a period of détente and disarmament throughout Europe. In recent years Sweden has begun to rearm and call up more citizens to military training. After the outbreak of war in 2022, Sweden decided to increase defence spending to 2% of GNP.
After the end of the Cold War and in response to the era of globalisation, Sweden’s relations with the wider world changed. The policy of strict non-alliance and neutrality was step by step revised. One major change was of course Sweden’s entry into the European Union in 1995. Moreover Sweden participated in several international military operations, as for example, in Afghanistan. Sweden also participated in NATO’s ”Partnership for Peace” and has deepened its cooperation with NATO in other ways. It has also initiated military cooperation with the other Nordic countries and in particular with Finland.
The fact that membership of NATO may be described as one of several steps in a series of repositioning moves does not diminish the enormous significance of Sweden’s membership of NATO. Sweden is no longer nonalligned and neutral, it is – quite simply – a member in the defensive alliance NATO.