After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and increased aggression near Sweden the question of Swedish membership in NATO has been brought to the fore.
In many ways the debate is unique: during the Cold War Swedish membership was a non-issue and even after the fall of the Berlin wall opposition to NATO membership continued to have strong support. Years later, however, many opinion polls show that there has been a shift. At the same time, opponents of NATO have formed groups and shown interest in fighting for their position.
In the report “NATO opposition in Sweden – who and why?” Aaron Korewa writes about how today’s NATO opponents are organized and the arguments they use. By reviewing NATO opposition in Sweden Korewa shows that there has been a change in their arguments and there is a clear division on the NATO issue between the ruling government and in the Social Democratic party.
– The NATO issue is engaging people. Therefore it’s interesting to see what the opposition’s argument is today and how they have chosen to organize themselves. It is especially important to note that there is a division within the Social Democratic party, said Aaron Korewa.
Aaron Korewa has a masters degree in political science and a bachelors degree in national economy from Uppsala University. He was previously a political aide for former Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and is currently a writer on security policy issues for the Atlantic Council and Stockholm Free World Forum. He is a co-editor for Natobloggen.se.