Sweden and NATO are ready for each other

As Russia continues its unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine, and its saber-rattling toward other countries in Europe and the United States, it is clear the global backlash caught President Vladimir Putin off guard. Perhaps most prominently, Putin’s stated desire to limit the expansion of NATO toward Russian borders has backfired in spectacular fashion, having driven Sweden and Finland to submit formal applications for membership in NATO.  

With a lengthy list of objections from Turkey finally overcome in principle, the path to joining NATO now runs through the capital of each member country for formal approval. This process includes the U.S. Senate, where the Foreign Relations Committee voted yesterday without opposition to advance the resolution to the floor. With ratification by the full Senate expected to soon follow, both countries’ membership in what has been described as the greatest peacetime military alliance in history will be cause for celebration.  

Several years ago, the then Commander of U.S. Army Europe, LTG Ben Hodges, attributed NATO’s unmatched success to “its shared values and the commitment to collective security.” As the former U.S. ambassador to Sweden, I know firsthand that Finland and Sweden share the values of the 30-nation organization. They are strong democracies with a fundamental faith in the rule of law. Their leaders have publicly and privately pledged their solemn agreement to provide collective security under the Treaty’s Article 5. Most of their citizens want in.  

Like many observers of Sweden, I was caught by surprise by the rapidity with which Swedish political and public opinion shifted in the weeks after President Putin began his aggression against Ukraine. But perhaps I should not have been. During my recent tenure as ambassador, the Swedish Parliament voted 204 to 145 — with support from several of Sweden’s largest political parties — to adopt a “NATO option” intended to take the country one step closer to possible NATO membership. Yet, for the then and current governing party, the Social Democrats, NATO membership had always been a bridge too far — though its leaders did repeatedly demonstrate their desire to tie Sweden as closely as possible to the NATO alliance. 

But the invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Russia’s demonstrated willingness to violently upset Europe’s status quo instantly elevated the NATO debate from theoretical to existential.   

Sweden brings much to the table, and I have seen what the country can offer as a NATO ally. While visiting the Swedish Arctic in February 2020, I had the privilege of viewing the Norrbotten Regiment, a highly trained, armored, Arctic, light infantry regiment in Boden, and flew in Sweden’s acclaimed Gripen fighter. Witnessing Swedish and U.S. troops exercising together, and meetings with Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist, Swedish Supreme Commander Micael Bydén and visiting senior U.S. and NATO generals highlighted to me how closely our two nations already cooperate, and our strong level of camaraderie. Thanks to the 2016 U.S.-Swedish Statement of Intent, and the hard work of many, including in the Defense Attaché’s Office and the Office of Defense Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, connectivity and interoperability between the U.S. and Swedish militaries have only grown.  

Sweden is already a significant supplier to the United States of crucial defense technologies and materiel and a partner in joint defense production. In 2020, the country also approved the largest increase in defense spending in 70 years. The government committed to annual increases in defense spending, starting upon accession into NATO, until the alliance’s 2 percent GDP target is reached. Sweden also adds crucial geographic breadth to the alliance; it is home to Scandinavia’s largest port, as well as Gotland, a strategically important island in the Baltic Sea. 

While my Swedish friends and colleagues have impressed upon me the great value that Sweden places upon its long history of neutrality and military non-alignment, it is no surprise that it was ultimately Russia’s actions that prompted the government’s decision to break conclusively with more than 200 years of tradition. Swedes frequently pointed out to me that they had fought the Russians for centuries — long before the United States existed. Even during the Cold War, while deeply invested in multinational diplomacy and eager to bridge East-West differences where it could, Sweden never failed to keep a sharp eye on Moscow and its rulers. Swedish disquiet with its security framework had been building for years, especially since Putin’s invasions of Georgia in 2008 and eastern Ukraine and Crimea in 2014 and recent Russian threats against Sweden itself. Feb. 24 was the final straw. 

The ongoing cooperation in support of Ukraine by the United States, Sweden, NATO and Europe is already demonstrating the practical logic of Sweden — and Finland — joining the alliance. Sweden continues to contribute significantly to North Atlantic and global security. NATO membership will take that contribution to a new level, including by laying to rest for good any question about Sweden’s commitment to the mutual security of its Nordic neighbors. 

With a shared military history between the U.S. and Sweden dating back more than two centuries, to our alliance in the Barbary Wars, I am confident Sweden will make an outstanding addition to NATO. Its choice to embark on this historic initiative to make our countries allies once again will be to our — and the world’s — great benefit.  

Ken Howery served as the U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden from 2019 to 2021.