Why Sweden’s Social Democrats U-Turned on NATO
Sweden’s left has historically been opposed to joining NATO. But as the war in Ukraine made joining the alliance popular, Sweden’s Social Democrats changed tack, alienating many of their supporters and exposing deep divisions among the Left in the process.
Sweden’s former minister of foreign affairs Ann Linde speaking at a joint press conference after the signature of the accession protocols to NATO of Finland and Sweden in Brussels, Belgium, July 5, 2022. (Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
On November 8, Ulf Kristersson, the newly elected prime minister of Sweden, went to Turkey. He was courting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a part of Sweden’s bid to join NATO. For many Swedes, the image that has come to symbolize the historic visit is a zoomed in frame of Kristersson’s hand, small and contorted, being squeezed to a bright red hue in Erdoğan’s grip.
After Sweden officially asked to join the military alliance in May, many NATO nations quickly signaled their enthusiasm at the prospect of Swedish membership. But Turkey was, to say the least, less keen. Sweden-Turkey relations have been sour for decades as a result of Sweden’s longtime support of the Kurds and the Kurdish fight for independence. Each NATO member state has the right to veto new members, and Erdoğan made clear his intention to use this right against Sweden, a nation he sees as supporting terrorist movements in Turkey.
It was only several weeks later that Erdoğan signaled he would be willing to lift Turkey’s veto in return for significant concessions. In a tripartite agreement signed in late June by Turkey, Sweden, and Finland (the two Nordic nations asked to join NATO at the same time), Sweden and Finland agreed to cease all support to People’s Protection Units (YPG), the mainly Kurdish militia in Syria, as well as Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the militia fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.
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