Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

For over 200 years, Sweden upheld a policy of neutrality and military non-alignment, values deeply ingrained in its national identity. However, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 marked a significant turning point, leading Sweden to abandon its historical stance and pursue NATO membership. This shift is particularly puzzling given Sweden’s deeply rooted identity as a non-aligned state, a commitment it maintained even during Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. To explain why Sweden chose to join NATO when it did, this thesis draws on poststructural discourse theory, emphasizing the role of language in shaping foreign policy. It locates and analyzes four floating signifiers; democracy, security, stability, and solidarity and explores their role in shaping debates in 2014 and 2022. The analysis reveals a significant discursive shift in 2022, wherein the rearticulation of these signifiers provided a particular hegemonic context that enabled the possibility for NATO membership, one that was not present eight years earlier. As such, this thesis highlights the poststructural understanding of identity as fluid and demonstrates how the interplay between discourse, power, and identity influences foreign policy decisions.