Title:
The forgotten legacy of Sweden´s policies of alignment
Abstract:
This article aims to contribute to the present debate on Sweden’s security policy orientation by introducing an analytical framework for explaining and evaluating different choices of grand strategy. The usefulness of the analytical framework is illustrated with reference to Sweden’s previous experiences from perusing policies of military alignment and participation in cooperative security efforts aiming for collective security. A further aim of the article is to remind the readers of these largely forgotten Swedish experiences of policies of alignment. This second aim is related to the mistaken but common view that Sweden during the last 200 years has pursued a consistent policy of non-alignment. In the conclusion of this article six alternative strategies to reduce the present gap between Sweden’s security goals and political and military means are analysed.