Why is the country which remained peaceful in the World War now joining NATO?
Hungary’s Parliament on Monday approved Sweden’s demand to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Now the Speaker of Parliament has forwarded this decision to the President. Sweden’s joining the military alliance is historic in the sense that it had stayed away from joining any military alliance for 200 years. Let us know why Sweden changed its ideology.
The Hungarian Parliament on Monday approved Sweden’s demand to join the NATO organization. Now the Speaker of Parliament has forwarded this decision to the President. Sweden, which stayed away from joining any military group for 200 years, is now going to become a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This is a historic event in geopolitics. Let us know what happened that the country which remained neutral in both the world wars changed its ideology.
Sweden had a policy of remaining neutral in armed conflicts since the beginning of the 19th century. Sweden remained neutral during both world wars. However, its policy changed after the Russia-Ukraine war. In fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that NATO expansion is a threat to Russia’s security. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the same argument was given. But this attack had the opposite effect. The instability created by the war forced Sweden to rethink its ideology of staying away from military alliances.
Why did Sweden leave military non-alignment?
A few days ago, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Christerson said in a press conference, ‘Sweden is leaving behind 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment.’ Explaining the reason for this historic decision, he said that we are joining NATO so that we can And can protect what they believe in even better. He said, ‘Together with others, we are protecting our freedom, our democracy and our values.’
Sweden’s military security is certain to increase by becoming a NATO member. Actually, NATO works on the principle of collective defense. That means if any one member country is attacked then other countries will come forward to help it. NATO does not have any army of its own. Member states may take collective military action in response to the crisis. NATO countries also keep conducting joint military exercises.
What will change by joining NATO?
NATO is a military alliance which was established in 1949. Initially there were 12 countries in it which included America, Canada, Britain and France. The basic objective of the military alliance was to stop Russia’s expansion into Europe. In 1955, Soviet Russia formed its own separate military alliance in response to NATO, which was named the Warsaw Pact. This included the communist countries of Eastern Europe. But after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, many countries that were part of the Warsaw Pact defected and joined NATO.
Being a member of NATO provides military security but along with it some rules also have to be followed. A major rule in this is that all member countries will have to spend at least 2 percent of their total GDP on defense. Finland, which joined the Alliance last year, has achieved this set goal. Sweden is planning to achieve this target by the year 2026.
Will joining NATO increase the threat to Sweden?
Sweden’s joining the NATO military alliance is being considered a major defeat for Russia. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the NATO group not only became active but also expanded its scope. At the same time, Russia opposes any kind of expansion of NATO. President Putin claims that Western countries are using NATO to enter Russian territories.
Last year, when Finland and Sweden were considering joining NATO, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman warned that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, it would have serious political and military consequences. Now that Finland and Sweden are on the verge of becoming NATO members, tension is increasing in the Baltic Sea. In January, Sweden’s Civil Defense Minister had said in a conference, ‘There is a possibility of war in Sweden.’ At the same time, top military officials had also advised citizens to be mentally prepared for war.
