Domestic Politics Analysis of Swedish Post-cold War Neutrality

Policy

Dinda Claudia Eka Putri and Siti Rokhmawati Susanto

Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga

Keywords: Sweden, neutrality, reorientation, foreign policy, international politics

Abstract: Sweden is known as a state which would not only play its role to pursue social welfare but also run its

commitment to establish foreign policy with neutrality. These two sets of principle were not only valued by

Swedish people and government but also known as Swedish character in international politics. Through the

principle of neutrality, Sweden orientated its foreign policies of non-military engagement and non-alignment

in conflicts. Swedish policy of neutrality itself has been consistently implemented for a long period before it

came to a reorientation of post-Cold War foreign policy. Compatibility of neutrality with national interests

and international objectives raised a question for Sweden's foreign policy because the collapse of Soviet Union

and the end of bipolarization became a turning point for world politics which not only led to new conception

of security but also challenge Sweden economic viability. Sweden's reorientation of foreign policy and the

principles of neutrality relevance changes not were not only influenced by the end of Cold War itself, but also

by various driving factors of Swedish domestic politics in pursuit of national welfare

1 INTRODUCTION

Neutrality is one of the Swedish guidelines, alongside

the welfare system known as Folkhem. The

combination of the principle of neutrality and social

welfare issues that dominate the domestic agenda

make both pillars of the Swedish national identity

(Bassett 2012, 11). Despite facing challenges by

potential conflicts or a tendency to engage in war,

Sweden has a long history of orienting its foreign

policy toward peace and neutrality. As Hetmanchuk

(2012, 1) states, Sweden has a foreign policy

character that chooses freedom from alliances in

peacetime with the aim of wartime neutrality. This

neutrality policy is a complex policy and involves a

multidimensional phenomenon.

Historically, Sweden was one of the greatest

military forces of Europe in the 1700s and had

mastered Finland and Norway. However, after being

involved in twenty-five wars in the span of three

hundred years, Sweden decided to abandon its

aggressiveness (Valentin 2014, 1). King Karl Johan

XIV's reign established the Swedish Constitution in

1809, followed by a change in Swedish foreign policy

from military involvement to neutrality not to engage

in military contact in 1810. From 1814, Sweden did

not participate in war nor join any alliance . The loss

of war from the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the

relatively limited size consideration of Sweden, and

the physical isolation of the continental Europe made

King Karl Johan declare that neutrality was the most

effective way of maintaining Swedish political and

military autonomy in Europe. This neutrality is based

on the geographical and strategic reality that King

Karl Johan sees to defend national sovereignty and

borders and keep the Swedish economy under the

weight of war (Bassett 2012, 10). Although not

included in the Swedish Constitution, a policy of

neutrality is used as a reference for foreign policy

because it is believed to guarantee Sweden not to

engage in war in the future. This principle is

supported by strong national defense to prevent a

military conflict in the territory of Sweden (Global

Security t.t.).

Neutrality is a legal status that denotes a country's

abstention to participate in wars among other states,

maintains an impartiality attitude toward belligerents,

and recognition by those parties to abstention and

impartiality (Encyclopedia Britannica 2012 in Bassett

2012, 6 ). International law provides this legal status

of rights and obligations between neutral parties and

warring parties. According to Hopper (in

Hetmanchuk 2012, 9), neutrality is a shortcut for

small countries in a balance of power. Through

neutrality, a country like Sweden can not only

maintain territorial unity and political independence

462

Putri, D. and Susanto, S.

Domestic Politics Analysis of Swedish Post-cold War Neutrality Policy.

DOI: 10.5220/0010278800002309

In Proceedings of Airlangga Conference on International Relations (ACIR 2018) - Politics, Economy, and Security in Changing Indo-Paciﬁc Region, pages 462-468

ISBN: 978-989-758-493-0

but can also act as a buffer state for conflicting

parties. In addition to defending sovereignty, Sweden

embodies the principle of neutrality by participating

as an arbitrator in conflictual conditions. The

manifestation of active internationalist neutrality

became part of Sweden's foreign policy since 1834 in

which King Karl Johan attempted to mediate Britain

and Russia at the end of the Napoleonic Wars (Agius

2006 in Bassett 2012, 1). Sweden's efforts to become

a neutral country in the resolution conflict continue

through contributions in various UN peacekeeping

missions since 1948 (Government Offices of Sweden

2015). Through active internationalist neutrality also,

Sweden plays a major role in providing humanitarian

aid and promoting human rights (Valentin 2014, 3-4).

Sweden has upheld the principle of neutrality

from the 19th century to the end of the 20th century.

However, Sweden began to transcend the line

between neutrality and post-Cold War political

affinity after the end of the Cold War and the collapse

of the Soviet Union. Neutrality is deemed no longer

relevant so Sweden begins to adopt policies that are

not directly proportional to this principle. The

reorientation of Swedish foreign policy can not only

be analyzed through the international system, but also

through the dynamics of domestic politics running the

Swedish government. Political leadership, the

meaning of national identity, and the diversity of

national interest aspects explain why neutrality is no

longer considered relevant to Sweden and why

Sweden's foreign policy direction is shifting.

1.1 Domestic Politics Dynamics in

Foreign Policy Analysis

Foreign policy is a policy formulated and taken to

regulate the relations of a country with other

countries. However, foreign policy can not be

separated in relation to domestic politics. As Fearon

(1998, 298-90) points out, domestic politics has a

crucial role in explaining the foreign policy of a

country. Foreign policy is an instrument for the

realization of foreign policy, where foreign policy

itself is an extension of domestic politics that

embodies the national interests and objectives.

Therefore, the foreign policy of a country can be

explored through the domestic political dynamics of

the country itself.

Fearon (1987, 291) describes two theories for

understanding foreign policy: systemic theory and

domestic political theory. Systemic theory views the

state as a rational and united actor. This theory

explains that the actors of international relations

actors are always connected to each other so that one

country will consider the behavior of other countries

before adopting certain policies (Fearon 1987, 291).

A country has a perception of the actions taken or will

be taken by other countries so that the state must give

attention and response to the international

environment (Fearon 1987, 298).

In contrast to systemic theory, domestic political

theory does not regard the state as a single actor. This

theory explains that the state is a non-authoritarian

actor and adds the conditions in which explanatory

variables can operate or how those variables operate

in theory. A country is described as choosing a

suboptimal foreign policy because it results from the

interaction of domestic actors. Domestic political

theories argue about the specific characters of the

relevant state to explain the various policy options or

certain political interactions that bring about the

diversity of policy implementation (Fearon 1989,

291-2). Suboptimal policies are explained by

additions related to a country's point of view that are

not related to units involved in foreign policy

formulation and decision-making, such as the

applicable regime or the specific purpose of the

policy. For example, suboptimal policies can be

traced from the underlying principles of foreign

policy or from the decision-making chief's preference

to retain power (Fearon 1989, 299-300).

Analysis of foreign policy through the level of

domestic political analysis becomes important

because domestic politics causes a country to adopt a

suboptimal policy, both for the sake of its own

country and for influencing the international

environment. In addition, the level of domestic

political analysis is also important to understand how

different political institutions, cultures, economic

structures, or goals of a country's leadership that are

not related to relative strength are relevant to explain

different foreign policy options (Fearon 1989, 302) .

Various country characters such as political culture,

values, national identity, and democratization can be

the variables used to explain how domestic politics

influences the formulation and decision-making of

foreign policy (Fearon 1998, 307).

It can be seen that foreign policy is not only

influenced by the international environment but also

influenced by the dynamics occurring within the

country itself. Therefore, domestic politics can be

used as one level of analysis in analyzing foreign

policy. If the systemic level of analysis explains how

a country takes foreign policy to respond to the

international environment, then the level of domestic

political analysis essentially explains why and how

domestic factors influence foreign policy formulation

and decision-making. The level of domestic political

Domestic Politics Analysis of Swedish Post-cold War Neutrality Policy

463

analysis becomes important when the level of

systemic analysis alone can not explain the

relationship between a country's policy and its

environment so that domestic dynamics is used to

track the underlying incentives of the policy. The

linkage between domestic politics and the

international system itself can be understood through

a two-level game approach. This approach explains

how policymakers adopt policies that must meet two

common goals, namely the interests of domestic

politics and the international political interests of the

country (Putnam 1988, 431). Given that national

politics and international politics are closely related

to each other, this approach can explain the

intersection of their interests in a policy.

1.2 Sweden Neutrality Policy

Sweden's foreign policy was not to participate in

alliances during peacetime and neutrality during the

war. Sweden has a location between the orbit of the

East-West European tension so that according to

Sunledius (in Hetmanchuk 2012, 9), the principle of

neutrality in foreign policy is aimed at securing

independence through political and non-aligned

military. However, Sweden was confronted with the

reality that the principle of neutrality was no longer

relevant after the end of the Cold War. The political

implications of Sweden's neutrality policy are

changing as there is a difference between the post-

Cold War era and the Cold War era itself (Andrén

1991, 67).

Previously, Sweden used the principle of

neutrality to pursue policies that could meet the

achievement of national interests flexibly

(Hetmanchuk 2012, 7). With no partisanship, Sweden

has no pre-commitment to engage in situations

outside its territorial conflicts and is not obliged to

direct its foreign policy to the forces of domination in

the international system. However, the end of the

Cold War left Sweden with no room for neutrality.

This is because the end of the Cold War became a

turning point in globalization that accompanied the

growing transnational issues and the emergence of

non-state actors that could influence the international

system. Therefore, the urgency of security on the

international political agenda has shifted and no

longer focuses on territorial integrity and military

power alone. With the end of bipolarity, the world's

states are no longer divided into blocks so that the

existence of a state of mediators and buffer states is

no longer a necessity. This condition makes Sweden

unable to have a significant impact on other countries

through neutrality and limits Sweden's choice to take

policy (Tepe 2007, 191). In fact, the post-Cold War

era exposed Sweden to economic and security

challenges so that policies were taken to address these

challenges.

Although judged not in harmony with the

principle of neutrality, Sweden chose to apply for

membership in the European Community. This

decision was driven by a decline in the strength of

national defense and post-Cold War economic

capability so that the Swedish government sees

membership in the European Community as a

solution (Tepe 2007, 191). Sweden is also faced with

a dilemma between the choice to not allied but to

economic stagnancy or to ignore the principle of

neutrality and continue the economic prosperity of the

nation. After going through a series of accession

negotiations, Sweden was accepted to be a member of

the EU in 1995 thus giving Sweden an economic

advantage but without political power (Hetmanchuk

2012, 6-8). This is because as a member country,

Sweden must adjust its policy with a single policy as

stipulated by EU Law. Sweden also had to adjust its

foreign policy to fit the goals of the organization. The

Swedish Parliament, Riksdag, ratified Article 47.2

Treaty of the European Union and the solidarity

clause in Article 222 of the Treaty of the Functioning

of the European Union or TFEU so that Sweden also

endorsed the declaration of solidarity in the Common

Security and Defense Policy (CSDP (Global Security

t.t.). As noted in the Amsterdam Treaty, military

defense was only developed for humanitarian and

peacekeeping operations (Tepe 2007, 193). To that

end, Sweden began to reduce the number of armed

forces and more participate in international

operations. However, the reduction of national

defense gave rise to criticism about Sweden's ability

to defend itself against external threats.

In addition to joining the EU and taking part in

CSDP, Sweden re-oriented foreign policy by

enhancing international security cooperation. Sweden

took foreign policy to establish security cooperation

with NATO through Partnership for Peace in 1994.

Some of Sweden's participation in this cooperation

was through the West European Union in 2015, the

NATO-led Implementation Force of 1995, the Euro-

Atlantic Partnership Council of the year 1997, and the

West European Armaments Group in 1997 (Tepe

2007, 192). Sweden also deployed troops to support

NATO's mission in Afghanistan and deployed

fighters for NATO missions in Libya in 2011 (Bassett

2012, 1-2). In addition to cooperation with NATO,

Sweden participated actively in UN Peacekeeping,

one of them through the UNPROFOR mission in

Bosnia in 1993 and the monitoring of the Peace

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464

Accords in Bosnia in 1997 (Tepe 2007, 192). Sweden

supports UN Peacebuilding missions to continue the

management of the Peacebuilding Commission in

2015 (Government Offices of Sweden 2015).

The end of the Cold War posed a challenge for

Sweden in a multidimensional way, politically,

economically, and socially. The global challenge in

this era makes neutrality no longer suitable for the

fulfillment of Swedish national interests. Therefore,

despite previously adopting a free foreign policy of

alliance and neutrality in the war, Sweden chose to

abandon its neutrality but keep its foreign policy

neutral and non-aligned through foreign policy

adjustments. The dismissal of this principle of

neutrality can be seen in Sweden's foreign policy of

joining the EU, contributing to NATO and EU

missions, and taking an active role through

involvement in international missions. Swedish

foreign policy itself can not be separated from the

dynamics of domestic politics that play a role in

changing the direction of foreign policy.

1.3 Domestic Politics and Sweden

Neutrality Policy

Neutrality is the policy of a state not to engage in war,

whereas armed neutrality is a neutral policy of a state

not to make alliances with both sides at war but

retains military power and prepares itself if its

sovereignty is attacked by others. Then, non-aligned

military is a policy position of a country to remain

neutral during peacetime by avoiding military

alliances although it can still have military

involvement in the event of a conflictual situation.

Citing Bassett's (2012, 7) conclusion, Swedish

foreign policy can be seen shifting towards a non-

aligned military because Sweden still retains military

power as a national defense and can deploy military

forces if needed in an international mission.

It is understood that the evolution of Sweden's

principle of neutrality is influenced by the events

facing Sweden as well as the factors influencing

Swedish domestic politics. In the Cold War era

Sweden maintained its policy of neutrality with a

security motif as justification. The bipolarisation of

the world and Europe's split in both blocs make it

impossible for Sweden to join the European

Community as such action could undermine the

credibility of Swedish neutrality and potentially pose

a security threat from the Soviet Union. The collapse

of the Soviet Union in 1989 eliminated the threat so

that the post-Cold War era changed the conception of

global security. (Bassett 2012, 30-1). Moreover, the

consistency of Swedish foreign policy orientations

was previously confronted with two major, often

incompatible political interests: to take economic

advantage through participation in European

integration or to maintain the credibility of a policy of

neutrality between two competing blocks (Andrén

1991, 68). The end of the Cold War which eliminated

competition between the two blocs also made the

principle of Swedish neutrality no longer relevant

without the threat of the Soviet Union so that this

momentum prompted Sweden to integrate with the

EU.

As adopted by the Riksdag in December 1990,

there are several factors driving the Swedish foreign

policy adjustment to post-Cold Europe. These factors

are the Swedish need to avoid all forms of

discrimination by the European Community;

emigration of major Swedish industries to a single

European market area; the majority of public opinion

in favor of Swedish membership in the European

Union; deténte international who wiped out fears that

the Soviet Union would doubt the seriousness of

Sweden's security policy; as well as the domestic

economic crisis requiring a return of popular

confidence in Swedish economic policy (Andrén

1991, 68). The post-Cold War era raised a domestic

political discussion on how Sweden To meet all

national needs, not only to defend the country's

position in the international system but also to sustain

the state through prosperity. In fulfilling the people's

social welfare, Sweden is faced with the challenges of

global economy and national security.

The Swedish government is multiparty with two

dominating parties, the traditional left-wing Social

Democratic Party and the center-right moderate

Moderate Party. Swedish society itself is atentif and

participatory in domestic politics so public opinion

influences perceptions of policy makers (Swedish

Institute t.t.). The post-Cold War economic instability

shifted how Swedish society conceptualized and

characterized neutrality as part of its national identity

(Bassett 2012, 28). Accompanied by a security

dilemma, neutrality is seen as limiting Swedish

choices so the government needs to change policies

to improve things.

In the 1990s, Sweden's GDP fell drastically and

the number of unemployed increased sharply so

Sweden suffered a severe economic crisis. This crisis

shows that the realization of the principle of social

welfare through the Swedish Model or Folkhem is

vulnerable to an open global economy indicating that

the government can not maintain prosperity without a

significant change (Bassett 2012, 26-8). This not only

inhibits the realization of people's welfare, but also

can eliminate people's trust in the government. The

Domestic Politics Analysis of Swedish Post-cold War Neutrality Policy

465

decline of national defense forces and the decline in

economic capability led the Swedish government to

see membership in the European Community as a

solution to the various issues faced. However,

neutrality is deemed inconsistent with the

organization for Sweden to modify this principle if it

chooses to join the European Union (Tepe 2007, 191).

The economic crisis left the Swedish electorate

preparing for a new economic model that the

Moderate-led Left-Front Coalition won the 1991

General Election by bringing in a strong alternative,

the economic reforms and the people's welfare, one of

which through the integration of Sweden in the

European Community (Bassett 2012, 29 ). Prime

Minister Ingvar Carlsson of the Social Democrats

stated that Sweden's membership in the European

Community is in line with its policy of neutrality.

This sentiment was joined by Prime Minister Carl

Bildt of Moderate Party who succeeded him after the

election. However, Bildt declares that to join fully in

the European Community, neutrality policy is no

longer appropriate for describing foreign policy and

Swedish security policies and the hard core of

security policy is non-participation in military

alliances (Bassett 2012, 32). As chief decision-maker,

it appears that these two figures share a common

leadership goal to support Swedish accession within

the European Community. However, the Moderate

Party began to argue that neutrality was no longer

fully relevant to Swedish foreign policy. The previous

principle of neutrality was upheld to bring security to

national defense and when faced with the post-Cold

War global economic and economic crisis, Swedish

perceptions of security shifted to the return of

economic security as soon as possible. Moderate

Party's alternative proposals through accession within

the European Community are a consideration for the

electorate and supported by the majority of the public.

Neutrality is no longer relevant to foreign policy.

Sweden's integration within the European

Community, which later developed into the European

Union, is aimed at improving economic stagnation.

The improvement of economic stagnancy can be

understood as a step taken by policy-makers and

political leaders to quickly alleviate the Swedish

economy from the crisis. International economic

relations are judged to be the way to achieve this goal

because the post-Cold War era was a turning point in

the global economy and with the neoliberalism

brought about by US hegemony, cooperation became

crucial to defend the Swedish economy in the

dynamics of the global economy. Membership within

the EU will facilitate Swedish access to a single

European market that adds Sweden's relative

competitiveness in the global free market. By

improving the economy, the government can restore

public confidence and political leaders can rally

public support.

The failure of the government under Moderate

Party to immediately improve the economy led the

people to turn to the Social Democratic-led Middle

East Coalition in 1994. This coalition not only

contributed to the stabilization of the Swedish

economy but also emphasized the expansion of

Sweden's attitude in the international system through

accelerating accession in the EU. The Moderate Party

has also taken steps to reorient Sweden's neutrality in

the face of the international environment and

globalization (Bassett 2012, 29-30). After becoming

a member of the United Nations since 1946, Sweden

established Partnership for Peace with NATO in 1994

and officially became a member of the European

Union in 1995 (Tepe 2007, 192). Foreign Minister

Anna Hjelm-Wallén issued a foreign policy statement

in 1997 that the end of the Cold War has allowed

Sweden to co-operate in order to create security

(Bassett 2012, 30-1). If previously Swedish troops

were only deployed for UN missions, Sweden began

to deploy troops for EU and NATO missions.

International operations through these three

organizations became an integral part of Sweden's

foreign policy with respect to national defense.

Membership in the EU and UN is formally a key

factor in Swedish foreign policy, and cooperation

with NATO also has an important role (Heldt 2012).

This confirms that Sweden is taking a change of

direction in its foreign policy from neutrality to a non-

aligned military and wants its country to participate

more actively in the international system.

Intensification of international relations is aimed

at raising Swedish profiles in international

cooperation through security dimensions (Tepe 2007,

192). This action can be examined from the principle

of neutrality which no longer guarantees Swedish

national security. If previously Sweden could have a

significant position as a state mediator or buffer state

between the conflicting parties, the collapse of the

Soviet Union resulted in the exit of the United States

as a hegemonic power post-Cold War. The unipolar

structure makes neutrality through impartiality

irrelevant. In fact, in addition to economic

improvement, state security is still one of the national

interests that must be met through foreign policy

considering social welfare can only be realized when

the country is in a safe and functional conditions.

Sweden also needs to secure a security trajectory.

This can no longer be achieved through non-

participation, but by working together in an

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466

international system. Policymakers have rational

considerations to initiate security cooperation and the

public supports this policy to support social welfare.

Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a

policy to be active in international missions to shape

public perception that Sweden has a security

cooperation that can guarantee national security.

In 2005, Prime Minister Göran Persson judged

that the principle of neutrality was no longer relevant

because of the changing European security context

(Bassett 2012, 31). The expansion of the security

trajectory then continued when in 2009, the Liberal

Party filed a motion for Sweden to become a

permanent member of NATO (Global Security, t.t.).

Security cooperation with NATO is considered to

have an important impact on Sweden so the Liberal

Party exposes consideration for Sweden to become a

permanent part of the security organization.

Submission of membership in NATO continues as the

Social Democrats win the 2014 General Election so

that the party can seek Sweden's entry into NATO

(Global Security, t.t.). This is understandable because

Sweden has joined and played an active role as a

member of the EU and NATO as well as a NATO

partner so that security gains are achieved through

continuity of international cooperation. The parties

that support this motion argue that membership in

NATO is needed to expand the trajectory of Sweden's

international security policy. As is known, social

welfare can be met when the stability of national

security is maintained. Therefore, in addition to

maintaining economic prosperity, the parties in

Sweden are concerned with international security

politics.

In addition to economic and security

improvements, Sweden's foreign policy reorientation

to the European Union can be understood as Sweden's

perception that its country can have a positive impact

on the EU and as an extension of Swedish identity by

adding a European orientation (Bassett 2012, 32). The

security orientation in foreign policy is focused on the

EU as a regionalism that includes European

economic, political, social and identity aspects in

integration so that membership in the EU is an

important concern for Sweden. Policymakers seek

Swedish active involvement in the EU so that Sweden

is not discriminated against in the continental Europe

so as to achieve multidimensional benefits by

becoming a member of the European Union. The

majority of public support for Swedish membership

in the EU also allows Sweden to add European

identity values in governance and foreign policy

orientation.

2 CONCLUSION

Neutrality has long been a reference to Swedish

foreign policy. Sweden's foreign policy was directed

towards achieving neutrality through freedom from

alliances in times of peace and impartiality in

wartime. In addition, Sweden also embodies

internationalist active neutrality by being a mediator

in conflict and participating in humanitarian

interventions. Along with social welfare, neutrality

became part of Sweden's national identity. However,

the end of the Cold War made the principle of

neutrality irrelevant so that Sweden began to abandon

it to ensure the fulfillment of social welfare.

In the Cold War era, Sweden maintained its

neutrality to safeguard the threats of the Soviet Union

so it was impossible to join European integration. The

end of the Cold War with the Soviet collapse removed

the threat from the Eastern bloc so that Sweden had

the opportunity to join the European Community.

However, the post-Cold War era made Sweden's

principle of neutrality no longer relevant because

Sweden needed to turn its foreign policy direction.

This can be seen from Swedish foreign policy which

involves not only the consideration of various aspects

but also influenced by Swedish domestic political

dynamics. Given the change is a shift in the principle

of neutrality, the analysis of the domestic political

level becomes important in exploring the influencing

domestic factors in foreign policy formulation and

decision-making. The reorientation of Swedish

foreign policy was influenced by a change of

leadership, a shift in the meaning of national identity

due to economic and security interests, as well as

Sweden's need for recognition from the European

Union.

In fulfilling the people's social welfare, Swedish

foreign policy is faced with the challenges of the

global economy and post-Cold War national security.

The post-Cold War economic crisis shifts the

meaning of neutrality as a national identity because

neutrality is judged to restrict the movement of

Sweden. The government also needs to change the

policy significantly to immediately improve the

economic stagnation caused by the crisis. Therefore,

Sweden accelerated accession within the EU to gain

market advantage and bring the country closer to

European identity. Given that the EU is a regionalism

that includes various aspects, Sweden seeks to gain

recognition from the EU so as not to be discriminated

against and to achieve member benefits. It also

embodies the aspirations of the Swedish people who

want their country to integrate in the continent. In

addition through the EU, Sweden later expanded

Domestic Politics Analysis of Swedish Post-cold War Neutrality Policy

467

security cooperation with NATO. This is because

Sweden can not guarantee security with its own

national defense and needs to secure the security

trajectory through cooperation. Sweden also

participates actively in various international missions

of the European Union, NATO and the United

Nations to enhance Sweden's profile in international

security politics.

Sweden's neutrality policy is a complex policy

and involves a multidimensional phenomenon. After

the Cold War, Swedish foreign policy shifted from

neutrality to non-aligned military because Sweden

still retained military power as a national defense and

could deploy military forces if needed in international

missions. In the domestic political dynamics,

Sweden's two main coalitions share the same

perception that neutrality policy is no longer relevant

in the post-Cold War era. There is also a reorientation

of similarity to direct Sweden to Western identity and

European identity. By improving the economic and

security dimensions, the government can restore

public confidence and political leaders can rally

public support. Although the change of political

leadership did not interfere with the Swedish foreign

policy reorientation process, there were debates and

differences in the implementation of new policies so

that Sweden needed time to adjust the direction of

foreign policy. Through a two-level game approach,

Sweden adjusted its foreign policy to meet the

national interest of abandoning neutrality for the

achievement of the welfare of society and to fulfill

foreign policy interests of intensification of

cooperation in order to strengthen the position of

Sweden in the international system.

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