The 7th of March 2024 was an intense day for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) and then Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M).
They were both in Washington and just before 11:30 am American time, the document was handed over to the US Secretary of State, making Sweden the 32nd member of the defense alliance.
Since then, a lot has happened. Donald Trump has shaken the world and the NATO that Sweden joined is not the same, according to Isak Svensson, professor at Uppsala University.
The biggest change is that the USA is getting closer to Russia. The big question is respect for the UN Charter, that countries' borders are respected and that you cannot take over states with military power. That has been the norm since World War II.
Are we safer now?
Ulf Kristersson and other politicians emphasize that Sweden is safer now than a year ago. Even expert authorities such as the military intelligence agency Must point out that Sweden's security has been strengthened and the threat of an armed attack directed solely at Sweden has decreased after joining NATO.
They count on the fact that the USA would quickly assist Sweden in the event of a serious security policy situation.
Sweden has joined NATO under the expectation of how it was, but now we see how the USA is changing. If the USA starts to waver, it's very problematic, says Isak Svensson.
"It's a great irony"
NATO's Article 5, the security guarantee that establishes the principle of one for all, all for one, still applies according to Trump, emphasizes Magnus Christiansson, war researcher at the Defense University.
But the question is justified. It's a great irony that Sweden becomes the 32nd member, at the same time as the transatlantic link is in a precarious situation.
He also points out that Sweden would never have been able to cooperate or receive support from the 31 other countries in the same way as now, if we were outside NATO – even when it comes to defense issues in the Nordic region.
The prerequisite is NATO membership, he says.
Both Magnus Christiansson and Isak Svensson believe that Europe will need to find new collaborations in defense and diplomacy when there are big question marks around the USA's and Trump's political will.
In every meeting now, people talk about Europe needing to take more responsibility, says Christiansson.
According to NATO's own estimate from June 2024, member countries together spent 1,474 billion American dollars on defense last year. A little over two-thirds – 968 billion – was spent by the USA, while the other 31 countries together accounted for 506 billion.
The USA's total GDP was estimated to be 28,720 billion US dollars, compared to 25,256 billion for the other NATO countries.
In terms of personnel, the USA had 1.3 million defense employees compared to 2.1 million for the others.
Source: NATO
