ISSUE: 2/2025
- Volume 29
- Number 2
- 2025
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Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs
ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780
License
Articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivatives 4.0 International License
Publication co-financed by Ministry of Science and Higher Education pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 3 August 2021 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1514) on the “Development of Scientific Journals” programme.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie rozporządzenia Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z 3 sierpnia 2021 r. (Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 1514) w sprawie programu „Rozwój czasopism naukowych”.
Publication co-financed by the University of Warsaw within the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.
Czasopismo otrzymało dofinasowanie w ramach Programu „Inicjatywa Doskonałości – Uczelnia Badawcza”.
From a Valuable Partner to an Indispensable Ally – Sweden’s Policy Towards NATO
Abstract
Although it was Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that provided the immediate impetus for it to apply for NATO membership, Sweden has long been an important military partner for both the United States and the Western world, particularly throughout the Cold War and during the Alliance’s transformation in the 1990s and 2000s. Now, when NATO’s Eastern and Northern flanks are under constant pressure from Russia (both through military threats and hybrid tactics), Sweden’s strategic capabilities are seen within NATO as an essential element of the Alliance’s deterrence potential in this region. This is due not only to Sweden’s strategic location in the Baltic Sea basin (with thousands of islands, including the critically important island of Gotland), but is also due to its military and armament potential coming via specialised companies supplying high-end equipment. Sweden’s accession to NATO has significantly increased the Alliance’s capabilities in many areas of deterrence and defence and has enlarged its room for manoeuvre in the Baltic Sea and also on the Eastern and Northern flanks of NATO. At the same time, it has also increased Sweden’s resilience to the aforementioned growing military and hybrid pressure from the Russian Federation. This article examines Sweden’s evolving stance toward NATO, from being a partner in various forms of cooperation to a nation now on the cusp of full membership in the Alliance and a so-called “security provider”. By exploring the history of Sweden’s security policy, its strategic calculations, the role of NATO in Sweden’s defence strategy, and the shifting dynamics in global and regional security, this paper outlines the complexities and implications of Sweden’s evolving relationship with NATO.
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DOI: 10.33067/SE.2.2025.3
Language: English
Pages: 37-56
How to Cite:
Harvard
Górka-Winter, B. (2025) "From a Valuable Partner to an Indispensable Ally – Sweden’s Policy Towards NATO". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 2/2025, pp. 37-56. DOI: 10.33067/SE.2.2025.3