Sweden: Social Democratic women uphold their ‘No to NATO’

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By Annika Strandhäll, Sweden

Annika Strandhäll is the Minister for Climate Change and the Environment in the Swedish government. She is the federal board chair of Social Democratic-women, an organisation with a long and proud history of campaigning for peace, disarmament and non-alignment. Social Democratic-women voiced strong opposition to government plans to join NATO. Here Strandhäll upholds this opposition and considers what will come next.

After intense and thorough discussion, the Social Democrats announced their decision on the NATO issue: the party believes that Sweden should join the defense alliance. It was an expected decision, but it was not the outcome we Social Democratic-women fought for. If the application is approved by NATO, unilateral reservations against the deployment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory must be expressed.

Social Democratic-women have made a long historical struggle for peace, disarmament and a world free of nuclear weapons. Our starting point has been that freedom from military alliances has served Sweden well. In the party's internal discussions, we have therefore chosen to stand up for our ‘no to NATO’. At the same time, we have said that we respect the decision made by the party board - such a major security policy issue is, of course, made democratically.

In the situation we are in now, it is important to look ahead. We will continue to work for solutions in an increasingly threatening world. Dialogue and collaboration must always be our main tools for creating stability and security. NATO membership and military rearmament must not be at the expense of our pursuit of peace and disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament.

It was thanks to the struggle of Social Democratic-women that the Swedish government in the 60s chose to phase out the Swedish atomic bomb program and sign the non-proliferation agreement. That position must be taken further by the government signing the current UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Sweden must clearly remain a nuclear-weapon-free zone, in both peacetime and possible wartime. The possibilities of adopting national legislation against the introduction of nuclear weapons in Sweden should be reviewed. Sweden must also work for NATO to become a military alliance without nuclear weapons.

Furthermore, Sweden's feminist foreign policy must be firmly established and strengthened. A holistic approach must be taken to build secure and functioning states governed by the rule of law, reduce poverty and meet basic requirements such as health, healthcare, schools and education. Equal development assistance is crucial. In order for development assistance to be strengthened, development assistance money must not be used as a reinforcement of the state budget. The money must always go to international efforts, with a clear focus on humanitarian efforts and educational efforts.

Nationally, too, it is important that investments in peace and relaxation go hand in hand with efforts to strengthen welfare, gender equality and the environment. We must ensure that the costs of NATO membership and military rearmament are not borne at the expense of other important policies that are crucial to a sustainable and equal society.

A broad political consensus is needed on these issues. We therefore want to see a cross-party working group working for this in the Riksdag. In troubled times, it is more important than ever that we put peace, freedom and feminism first. This is our common future!

Translated from the Social Democratic-Women website https://s-kvinnor.se/