17吃瓜在线

Introduction

Modern Europe faces significant geopolitical changes, and the current question is what will happen to NATO after Sweden joins the alliance. Due to Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, NATO has fast-tracked Sweden and Finland into the organization despite the opposition of some member countries. Now the question is, how has Sweden鈥檚 recent entry into NATO changed the current disposition in Northern Europe, and what response can we expect from Russia?

On March 7, 2024, in Washington听D.C., the country officially became the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Alliance. During the ceremony, U.S. President Joe Biden, addressing the head of the Swedish government, Ulf Kristersson,听said: 鈥淢r. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known.鈥�

What Are the Implications of Sweden鈥�s NATO Membership?听

To contextualize the听significance of Sweden's acceptance into NATO, Sweden's integration into the alliance is a historic step that marks an almost 200-year era of the country鈥檚 neutrality. This event led to a concrete strengthening of NATO in the military sphere. While Finland successfully joined the alliance less than a year after the war in Ukraine emerged, Sweden's path to membership faced significant opposition from Turkey and Hungary. Ankara demanded, among other things, that Stockholm听听individuals whom the Turkish authorities accuse of terrorism, as well as prevent the activities of the Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party, declared a terrorist organization in Turkey. Budapest, in turn,听听Stockholm of 鈥渄enigrating鈥� Hungary and making regular comments regarding the country鈥檚 deviation from the norms of the rule of law.听After a short period of time, both countries changed their minds, which makes it possible to assume that comments by Erdogan about the听听issues听are not the actual reason for blocking accession and that听.听The Turkish and Hungarian leaders wanted to negotiate听鈥澨齛s possible, such as negotiating a favorable deal with the United States regarding new F-16 fighter jets.听

End of the Era of Neutrality

The entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO is a characteristic expression of the era in which we now live. While Finland had听听since 1949,听听.听Back in the period of the听Napoleonic Wars, King Karl XIV John听听such a policy after a series of unsuccessful wars.听Since then, Stockholm has consistently maintained its status as a neutral state, although it has experienced strong pressure from individual countries.听Thus, the Swedes did not formally participate in either World War I or World War II, nor did they join the Warsaw Pact or NATO during the Cold War.听However, many countries such as Hitler鈥檚 Germany continued to pressure Sweden, forcing it to allow the Nazis听.听Ironically, this likely听allowed the country to remain neutral, as German military was heavily relying on Swedish iron ore.听

In general, the avoidance of large-scale wars and a long tradition of neutrality have made this status part of the national consciousness of the Swedes and the general direction of the country鈥檚 security policy. Back in 2014,听.听听However, after Russian troops occupied the Ukrainian peninsula and continued to pursue their aggressive policy in 2014, these indicators changed significantly. After Russia invaded Ukraine, a July 2022听Statista poll听reported that 64% of Swedes听, suggesting that the reason for such an increase was Moscow鈥檚 aggressive imperialist policy.

Significantly, Sweden's path to NATO membership began under former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. It was the听,听but with the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, they changed their听position.听Ultimately, the country was finally brought into NATO by the liberal-conservative Ulf Kristersson, the current Prime Minister. Thus, it is not difficult to conclude that it was Putin and his imperialist policies that brought Sweden into NATO. Swedes themselves wanted protection and security guarantees in the face of Russia鈥檚 efforts to wage the largest war in Europe since the Second World War and forcefully revise the borders of other states.

狈础罢翱鈥�s Control of the Baltic Sea听

With the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, the alliance is experiencing its greatest expansion since the 1990s. Helsinki and Stockholm will collectively add almost听300 thousand active and reserve troops to the ranks of the alliance.听Sweden itself is a country with a population of 10 million that spends听听A significant advantage is that the country鈥檚 centuries-old neutrality forced it to develop its military capabilities, reaching a world-class scale. The state now independently听.听

Additionally, Sweden will strengthen NATO not only with its army and weapons, but also with its favorable territorial location. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Baltic Sea was Moscow's inland sea. The USSR controlled the Baltic states and, under the Warsaw Pact, Poland and East Germany. However, after the collapse of the USSR and Russia's continuation of imperialist policies, everything changed. First, Poland and the Baltic countries' accession to NATO, and now the accession of Finland and Sweden, turned the Baltic Sea into a NATO internal sea. In general, Sweden is a maritime state. The majority of its population lives in the south and is tied to trade with the European Union. The country owns a large number of navy ships in the Baltic Sea鈥�163,听.听The difference is substantial, and due to the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the difference in forces between NATO and Russia has also increased significantly. The Scandinavian countries, the Baltic countries, and Germany can block the sea borders and straits, and thus, Russia will remain cut off, keeping the Baltic Sea in 狈础罢翱鈥檚 control.听

Failure of the Kremlin鈥�s Rhetoric

Another question which is crucial to explore is why Sweden's accession to NATO is essential for Ukraine, and how this event contests the basic rhetoric of the Kremlin. Russia has promoted narratives to external audiences about the听听and used it to justify Putin鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. Despite Putin鈥檚 efforts to听听and use Ukraine鈥檚 desire to join NATO to justify Russia鈥檚 aggressive policy, the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO completely neutralized this narrative. Due to the integration of Finland into NATO,听听to 1.584 miles. However, the Kremlin did not oppose the entry of Sweden and Finland, instead听听that these countries posed no direct threat to Russia, while also warning that Russia can take appropriate measures 鈥渋f necessary.鈥� This statement is ironic as Finland鈥檚 accession expanded the borders between Russia and NATO, with the additional future possibility of increasing armed forces on those borders.听The narrative about the inadmissibility of NATO expansion would have appealed much better than other motives put forth by Putin. In fact, the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO ultimately wrested this narrative of justification for war against Ukraine from under Putin. Resorting to false narratives about 鈥溾�� and听听of the Ukrainian people,听Russia听chose to invade Ukraine and began Europe's most significant war since World War II.听

While Russia frequently claims that NATO expansion threatens its security, its actions suggest otherwise. Despite the Kremlin's public threats toward several NATO countries, it has only waged war against non-NATO members like听.听This suggests that Russia's true motive lies not in defensive concerns over NATO but rather in imperialist ambitions aimed at dominating its neighbors. If NATO truly posed a threat to Russian security, we would expect military aggression toward NATO members. Instead, Russia targets countries that are not under NATO's protective umbrella, reinforcing the idea that its invasions stem from a desire to maintain regional influence, rather than fears of NATO.