The Arctic as a Strategic Space : The Role of the High North in Transforming Sweden’s Foreign and Security Policy

This article examines the influence of the evolving geopolitical and geo-economic environment in the High North on the transformation of Sweden’s foreign and security policy – from pursuing a feminist foreign policy to adopting a state-centric approach, focused on traditional state interests. First, it conceptualises national strategies, and introduces the case of Sweden. It then presents a Structural Realism framework concerning defensive alliances, and the concept of deterrence. Next, the article maps Sweden’s foreign and security policy, and the role of the High North from 2011 to 2018. In this section, it explores the underlying motives behind, and the consequences of, Sweden’s active pursuit of a feminist foreign policy. Subsequently, the article examines the role of the High North in refocusing Sweden’s foreign and security policy on state interests during the period 2019 to 2025. It discusses the influence of Sweden’s leadership in regional fora such as NORDEFCO, the Northern Group, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – a development that led successive Swedish governments to gradually shift from promoting normative interests at the individual level, to prioritising hard security interests at the state level. The article concludes by explaining why the High North has become imperative to advancing Sweden’s economic, and military, security interests.