From a Valuable Partner to an Indispensable Ally – Sweden’s Policy Towards NATO
Journal: Studia Europejskie-Studies in European Affairs
Year: 2025

Although it was Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that provided the immediate impetus for it to apply for NATO membership, Sweden has long been an important military partner for both the United States and the Western world, particularly throughout the Cold War and during the Alliance’s transformation in the 1990s and 2000s. Now, when NATO’s Eastern and Northern ﬂanks are under constant pressure from Russia (both through military threats and hybrid tactics), Sweden’s strategic capabilities