Thinking The Arctic in Swedish Geopolitics: Policies and Practices
Thinking The Arctic in Swedish Geopolitics: Policies and Practices

Author(s): Emre Sipahioğlu
Subject(s): Geopolitics
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Thinking; Arctic; Swedish; Geopolitics; Policies; Practices;
Summary/Abstract: We are in an era in which the influence of geography is reflected in national and global policies and the international order is connected with strategic location. In the 21st century, the fact that the countries of Northern Europe are far from the irregular zones that we define as the geography of war does not mean that they ignore their security policies. At this point, there is a need for a geopolitical security order in a world of anarchic order. Sweden has been seeking ‘status’through regional cooperation after the Cold War but has returned to a defensive security approach with Russia’s aggressive realist policies. In globalisation studies, the seeking of status may change according to the influence of the political order. In this sense, the regional anarchic structure of geography leads to changes in the understanding of “status”. In international relations, there is an understanding of status based on three theories: social identity, rationalist instrumentalism and constructionism. What position does Sweden hold in terms of status? We can read the policies of a country with an ongoing war in its “neighbourhood” from the perspective of the search for a new identity within the scope of ontological security. The possession of extensive military technology and advanced war equipment is important for a country’s international status. Individual security equipment and economies may be insufficient to ensure peace and security in the Northern European region, so a shift towards “collective security” policies is essential. In this context, NATO, the world’s largest security co-operation, comes into play.

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