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Tag: Sweden

Nordic-Baltic total defence: easier said than done

NATO’s newest members Finland and Sweden are already net contributors to Allied security. Well known for their military capability, the two countries also bring a new approach into the Alliance: total defence. While military cooperation is intensifying, civil defence and civil-military cooperation need to be better integrated into Nordic-Baltic regional defence.

Finland and Sweden are known for their so-called “total defence” approach to security, in which national defence is not only a task for the military but for the whole of society. The security concept was primarily developed for three reasons: their history outside of NATO, geographical proximity to the Soviet/Russian threat, and large territories with small populations.

July 8, 2025 - Eric Adamson Minna Ålander

Combatting disinformation by state agencies: the case of the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency 

Interview with Mikael Tofvesson, head of the operational department of the Psychological Defence Agency. Interviewer: Andrzej Kozłowski.

May 7, 2024 - Andrzej Kozłowski Mikael Tofvesson

Finding Sweden’s role in a new NATO

Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson said earlier this year that "war can come to us too." Meanwhile, Minister of Civil Defence Carl Bohlin has appealed to the public to "mentally prepare for the outbreak of war”. Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Micael Bydén has even warned that war in Ukraine is not the Kremlin’s ultimate goal but only a step to tear down the existing rules-based international order. In March 2024, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO. However, the road for this Nordic country, which has not been at war since 1814, to join the strongest defence alliance in the history of the world has not been easy.

April 30, 2024 - Karolina Zub-Lewińska

“Freedom is the most important thing for human beings, it is something we all have in common.”

Interview with Pär Johansson, president of the Swedish charity Blåljus i Samverkan. Interviewer: Nikodem Szczygłowski.

August 28, 2023 - Nikodem Szczygłowski Pär Johansson

The ghosts of Poltava

In May 2022, as a result of Russia’s renewed war of aggression against Ukraine, Sweden broke its long-standing official position of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO. The success of this application will depend very much on the goodwill of Turkey. While this whole situation will seem very odd to the casual outside observer, there is an interesting historical backstory that connects Sweden, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

July 14, 2022 - Matthew Kott

What would Sweden and Finland joining NATO mean for the Baltics?

By invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin wanted to change Europe’s security architecture and stop the expansion of NATO. Instead, Sweden and Finland, traditionally non-aligned countries, are now considering to join the alliance. Their membership would have a major impact on the security of the Baltic states.

May 11, 2022 - Andrius Balčiūnas LRT

Shifting empires. The Treaty of Nystad turns 300

Three hundred years on, the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia, still has a strong legacy today. The new reality, which formed after the signing of the treaty on September 10th 1721, saw Moscow emerge as a significant actor in Europe.

Russia’s road to power and significance in the world was long and ambiguous. Moscow’s imperial aspirations were sparked by the start of the Great Northern War in 1700 and were confirmed exactly 300 years ago. The famous battle of Poltava on June 28th 1709 paved that way. Yet, in spite of its military significance, it was the diplomatic and legal solutions that announced the rise of a new player, taking Sweden’s place, at the table of European powers. But it took 12 more years before Moscow broke the will of Stockholm entirely.

September 12, 2021 - Grzegorz Szymborski

Cold friendship, or tepid panic? Behind the scenes of the Swedish narrative on Russia and NATO

An interview with Dr Gregory Simons, Associate Professor at Uppsala University, Sweden. Interviewer: Mario Giagnorio

Despite being at the political margins of Russia’s foreign policy, Sweden’s political élite is weighing the NATO option. Their choices in security will play an important role in the Baltic Sea area in terms of stability.

September 29, 2020 - Gregory Simons Mario Giagnorio

Sweden welcomes a more proactive position from Eastern Partnership countries

Interview with Anna Westerholm, Ambassador for the Eastern Partnership at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Interviewer: Kateryna Pryshchepa.

November 18, 2019 - Anna Westerholm Kateryna Pryshchepa

Poland’s Protestant diversity

In the 16th century, Polish Protestantism began to flourish and this tolerance brought European civilisation many noble thinkers, including Jan Hevelius, Kazimierz Siemienowicz, Józef Naronowicz-Naronski and Krzysztof Arciszewski.

October 4, 2017 - Andrzej Zaręba

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