From Neutrality to NATO: Sweden-NATO Relations from a Turkish Perspective

Year 2025, , 1 - 14, 31.01.2025

Evren Küçük

https://doi.org/10.29157/etusbed.1558817

Abstract

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland (jointly) decided to become members of NATO to increase their security. Historically, Russia's activities in the Baltic region have been perceived as an existential threat to both states. Russia's military activities and statements accelerated the membership process of the two Nordic states. Türkiye vetoed Sweden's NATO membership because of some security concerns. As a result of negotiations, an attempt was made to end the veto crisis with a trilateral agreement (between Türkiye, Sweden, and Finland) at the Madrid Summit. Finally, Sweden became NATO's 32nd member in March 2024.
This study argues that in the event of a potential threat, a small state (Sweden) abandoned its traditional foreign policy and needed a collective military organization, and therefore tried to overcome crises through diplomatic negotiations. Based on this claim, it aims to contribute to the existing political history literature on Türkiye-Sweden relations. This study reveals from a Turkish perspective that Sweden abandoned its policy of non-alignment because it wanted to gain the support of a collective security organization against possible Russian threats.

Keywords

NATO, Russia, Sweden, Crisis, Neutrality.

Tarafsızlıktan NATO’ya: Türkiye Perspektifiyle İsveç-NATO İlişkileri

Abstract

Rusya’nın Ukrayna’yı işgal etmesiyle İsveç ve Finlandiya (ortak bir şekilde ) güvenliklerini artırmak adına NATO üyeliğine karar vermişlerdir. Tarihsel süreç içerisinde Rusya’nın Baltık bölgesindeki faaliyetleri her iki devlet için varoluşsal bir tehdit olarak algılanmıştır. Rusya’nın gerçekleştirmiş olduğu askeri faaliyetler ve yaptığı açıklamalar, iki Nordik devletinin üyelik sürecini hızlandırmıştır. İsveç’in NATO üyeliği, Türkiye’nin bazı güvenlik endişelerinden dolayı veto edilmiştir. Müzakereler neticesinde Madrid Zirvesi’nde (Türkiye-İsveç ve Finlandiya arasında) üçlü mutabakat metni ile veto krizi sonlandırılmaya çalışılmıştır. Nihayet Mart 2024’te İsveç, NATO’ya 32. üye olarak katılmıştır.
Bu çalışma, olası bir tehdit durumunda küçük bir devletin (İsveç’in) geleneksel dış politikasını terk edip kolektif bir askeri örgüte ihtiyaç duyduğunu ve bunun için de krizleri diplomatik müzakerelerle aşmaya çalıştığı iddiasını ortaya atmaktadır. Bu iddiadan hareketle NATO-İsveç ilişkileri üzerine mevcut siyasi tarih literatürüne katkıda bulunmayı hedeflemektedir. Söz konusu çalışma İsveç’in olası Rus tehditlerine karşı kolektif bir güvenlik örgütünün desteğini kazanmak istediğinden dolayı bağlantısızlık politikasını terk ettiğini, Türkiye perspektifiyle ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

NATO, Rusya, İsveç, Kriz, Tarafsızlık.

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