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NATO

Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party backs Nato bid

Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party on Sunday said it was in favour of joining NATO, reversing its decades-long opposition and paving the way for the country to submit a membership application.

Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party backs Nato bid
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson holds a press conference announcing that the Social Democrats agree to a a Swedish application for NATO membership. Photo Fredrik Persson / TT

The turnaround comes amid soaring political and public support in Sweden for joining the Western military alliance after Russia’s February 24th invasion of Ukraine.

The issue has divided Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats, with some party members expressing concern that the decision was being rushed through.

The party said on Sunday that if Sweden’s application were approved, it would work to express “unilateral reservations against the deployment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory.”

The announcement came just hours after neighbouring Finland announced its official intention to apply for membership.

The two countries have expressed a desire to act in unison and submit their applications jointly, in a move seen as a deterrent against aggression from Russia.

A security policy review by the parties in Sweden’s parliament presented on Friday concluded that Swedish NATO membership would reduce the risk of conflict in northern Europe.

The report stopped short of offering a concrete recommendation on whether to join, but noted that it was “not realistic to develop bilateral defence alliances outside existing European and Euro-Atlantic structures.”

It also noted that “within the framework of current cooperation, there is no guarantee that Sweden would be helped if it were the target of a serious threat or attack.”

Sweden, which was neutral in World War II, has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years, though it has forged closer ties with Nato since the 1990s.

READ MORE:

TIMETABLE: Sweden’s big day for Nato membership

KEY POINTS: Five things to know about Sweden and Nato

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MILITARY

EXPLAINED: Is national service compulsory in Sweden?

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently revealed plans to introduce compulsory national service, referencing Sweden as an inspiration for this. But how does national service work in Sweden, and is it compulsory for everyone?

EXPLAINED: Is national service compulsory in Sweden?

Although Sweden hasn’t formally been involved in a war since 1814, the country has had some sort of conscription system since the 17th century, excluding a seven-year window between 2010 and 2017, where it was scrapped (or more specifically, “suspended in peacetime”).

Historically, it applied to men only, but was extended to include women in 2010.

Is it mandatory?

Yes and no.

When a Swedish citizen turns 18, they receive a letter from The Swedish Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency asking for information on their health, interests and education, in order to determine whether they should be called up for compulsory military service, officially known as värnplikt (“duty to protect”). 

This document is sent out to all Swedes turning 18 in a given year, and it is mandatory to fill this in, with a few exceptions, such as people who receive benefits from the Social Insurance Agency or residential care homes for children and young people (like HVB-hem or SiS-hem).

Having said that, it is by no means every Swede turning 18 in a given year who actually ends up carrying out military service.

In 2023, the agency collected information on 102,286 young people in Sweden turning 18 that year, with 36,420 called up for testing.

If you don’t turn up to these tests, known in Swedish as mönstringen, you can be sentenced to brott mot totalförsvarsplikten or “crime against the total defence obligation”, which carries with it a fine of 2,000 kronor or up to a year in prison.

These tests at the Swedish Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency are mandatory, and include a theory test, a medical examination, eye and colour blindness tests, hearing tests, as well as an EKG test, pulse and blood pressure tests.

You’ll also need to do a general fitness test and a strength test, as well as an interview with a psychologist to determine whether you’re cut out for military training.

Each test will be scored separately, with your total points determining which course within the Swedish armed forces you’ll be assigned to. You’re allowed to express a preference, although you’re not guaranteed to get a position on the course of your choice. Military training (colloquially known as lumpen) takes between 9 and 15 months, depending on the course.

Not everyone who carries out these tests will actually be called up for military training – in 2023, 6,144 (around 6 percent of everyone turning 18 that year) were assigned a course within the Swedish army, where they were joined by an additional 1,166 individuals who had applied of their own accord. 

Those who pass the tests but who aren’t assigned a position in the army are placed in the reserves, alongside people who delayed their conscription (due to their studies, for example). People in this group could be called up to perform military service if Swedish security is placed on high alert.

What about conscientious objectors?

People who for religious or political reasons do not want to use weapons can apply to carry out weapon-free military service or vapenfri tjänst. 

This doesn’t mean that you won’t have to serve at all, but you could be assigned to civil basic training, which essentially means you’d help ensure that important services like healthcare, childcare or the fire services were still running if there was a crisis.

At the moment, there are no civil basic training courses for conscientious objectors running, although the government has the power to reintroduce these.

There is no programme in Sweden similar to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans for 18-year-olds to dedicate one weekend a month volunteering in the community, for example by “delivering prescriptions and food to infirm people”.

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