Sweden's Security Policy

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Cold War, Sweden's security policy has been based on the principle of non-alignment between great power blocs in order to remain neutral in case of war. This basic principle is of major importance to Sweden's behaviour on the three major arenas of her foreign policy — global, European, and Nordic. In this paper the development of Sweden's present foreign policy is outlined, and the signifi cance of a viable national defence as a corollary to non-alignment and neutrality is analysed together with the problems arising out of the inherent tension between an isolated security policy and an outward-oriented, extremely open economic policy.