Sweden and its deterrence deficit
Year: 2018

Sweden has been quick in reacting to Russia's aggressive behaviour in Europe, but slow acting on that assessment. A shift was under way towards perceiving Russia as a serious threat and in favour of both a stronger national defence and membership in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), already before Russia attacked and annexed Crimea. However, Crimea reinforced and accelerated this swing in public and elite opinion. The changing mood has also led to a renaissance for the concept of deterr