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Sweden's Nato Workaround: Swedish security and defense policy against the backdrop of Russian revisionism

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Focus Stratégique
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Russia’s revisionist foreign policy and military build-up has considerable security implications for the Baltic Sea region, including for Sweden.

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This is also the official perception in Stockholm. Abandoning military non-alignment is yet not on the agenda. Rather, the current Swedish government is addressing the issue through what has come to be labeled the “Hultqvist doctrine” after Swedish minister of defense Peter Hultqvist: on the one hand, boosting national defense capabilities while seeking broader and deeper international defense cooperation short of collective defense on the other. In light of current developments in the Baltic Sea region and beyond, the debate on Sweden’s strategic posture and its position within the European security architecture is also relevant beyond the country’s border. After decades of important financial cuts and reforms aimed at exclusively orienting the Swedish Armed Forces toward expeditionary operations, the task yet proves difficult. Likewise, the NATO issue remains extremely sensitive in the political debate – in particular for the social democrats in power.

 

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978-2-36567-480-5

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Sweden's Nato Workaround: Swedish security and defense policy against the backdrop of Russian revisionism

Decoration
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Barbara KUNZ

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 A soldier watching a sunset on an armored infantry fighting vehicle
Security Studies Center
Accroche centre

Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.

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Date de publication
11 September 2025
Accroche

Saudi Arabia’s integration in the international arena and regional stability, notably through reducing its dependence on fossil energies, are crucial elements for the success of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the Crown Prince’s top priority. However, Mohammed bin Salman’s declarations in 2018 and 2021, indicating that “if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible”, combined with the recent strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, do not bode well for the future of the Kingdom, the region and the non-proliferation regime at large.

Nour EID
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Date de publication
24 January 2025
Accroche

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Europe Uncovered?

Date de publication
09 September 2025
Accroche

As Russia continues to threaten Europe, the Trump administration is making no secret of its desire to withdraw—at least partially—from the defense of the Old
Continent in order to focus on strategic competition with China. It is thus putting pressure on its European allies to increase their investment in the military sector. The NATO Summit in The Hague in June 2025 resulted in ambitious commitments by member states to increase their defense spending.

Élie TENENBAUM Guillaume GARNIER
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How should Britain and France cooperate to realise the Northwood Declaration?

Date de publication
18 July 2025
Accroche

During his state visit to the United Kingdom (UK) last week, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, signed a joint declaration with Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister, on nuclear cooperation between Britain and France. The Northwood Declaration highlights that while both countries’ nuclear arsenals remain sovereign, cooperation on nuclear deterrence can ‘contribute significantly’ to the security of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Euro-Atlantic region.

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Sweden's Nato Workaround: Swedish security and defense policy against the backdrop of Russian revisionism