On the 18th of May 2022, Sweden made the historic decision to seek NATO membership, marking the end of two centuries of military non-alignment. Previous literature has often highlighted policy changes in relation to external factors. However, this thesis adopts a perspective that goes beyond external influences, instead focusing on the discursive construction of national identity and its co-constitutive role in policy change. Given that neutrality and military non-alignment by scholars have been considered crucial elements of Swedish identity, the abrupt and transformative changes that took place during the spring of 2022 makes Sweden an interesting case to study. This thesis also recognizes how this process is inherently marked by gender. Based on this, the objective is to understand how new identities were forged and existing ones renegotiated in the Swedish NATO debate during the spring of 2022, and how this reflects gendered societal perceptions of security, sovereignty, and protection. Emphasizing the discursive power of media, this thesis employs Lene Hansen’s poststructuralist discourse analysis together with insights from feminist security scholars. The analysis reveals the presence of two primary discourses in the NATO debate, both constructing identities with gendered underpinnings.