Read more about the article Playing the Long Game: Hungarian Parliament Continues to delay Sweden’s NATO Accession Bid
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Playing the Long Game: Hungarian Parliament Continues to delay Sweden’s NATO Accession Bid

On 28 June 2023, the Hungarian Parliament’s House Committee rejected a proposal to schedule a weekly plenary vote ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership bid (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2023). Incidentally, this is the final week of the chamber’s spring session, meaning that Parliamentarians will not return until the ordinary autumn sessions start in late August or early September. Therefore, the only chance to vote on Stockholm’s accession to the alliance is through an extraordinary session, which may only convene upon a motion by the President, the Government or one-fifth of the Parliament’s members (Hungarian National Assembly, n.d.).

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14 July 2023
Read more about the article What Benefits and Disadvantages does Sweden and Finland get from NATO?
Info Flash

What Benefits and Disadvantages does Sweden and Finland get from NATO?

This Info Flash will first examine the international relations between Sweden, Hungary, and Türkiye, which are tense since Sweden started its accession process to join NATO in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. With this context, the second part of the paper will conduct an analysis of the benefits and disadvantages for Sweden, Finland, and NATO itself in accepting these new member states.

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12 June 2023
Read more about the article Refusing a Second “Finlandization”? The Drivers and the Impact of Finland and Sweden’s NATO Membership on the Arctic Region
Info Flash

Refusing a Second “Finlandization”? The Drivers and the Impact of Finland and Sweden’s NATO Membership on the Arctic Region

This Info Flash outlines the European security crisis, which has its roots beyond the unsolved issues with post-Soviet Russia and NATO enlargement towards the East of Europe. The current invasion of Ukraine shows that two opposing international concepts are on the battleground. The goal of this research is to investigate the reasons that led two of the most prominent European neutral nations – Sweden and Finland – to take sides in the current conflict between the two contrasting visions of the international order, joining the Atlantic Alliance. It is elaborated on a historical analysis of Finland and Sweden, which shows the lessons learnt from experiences in order to determine the present-day challenges that both face due to their geopolitical position in the Arctic region. In doing so, this paper aims to understand the past, present and future international arrangements involving the Arctic as the next battlefield where the two contrasting international order visions will collide. 

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2 March 2023
Read more about the article Sweden and Finland’s Accession to NATO
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Sweden and Finland’s Accession to NATO

The constant escalation of Russia’s war on Ukraine led the Nordic countries to scale up their defence cooperation and preparedness, making Finland and Sweden take the decision to join NATO. On 18 May 2022, both countries handed their official letters of application to join the organization over to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and had their accession protocols signed on 5 July, after the completion of the pertinent accession talks (NATO Parliamentary Assembly, 2022). The protocols must now be ratified by all the Allies in accordance with their national procedures.

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23 December 2022
Read more about the article <strong>The New Scandinavian Asset: To What Extent Sweden and Finland NATO’s Membership Will Strengthen The Alliance?</strong>
Info Flash

The New Scandinavian Asset: To What Extent Sweden and Finland NATO’s Membership Will Strengthen The Alliance?

Since the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949, the Nordic countries or Scandinavian countries remained divided on their willingness to join the Alliance. Whereas Norway, Denmark, and Iceland directly joined NATO, Sweden and Finland chose not to. Nevertheless, although NATO’s security provision and mutual military assistance is apparent, it is less evident what Finland and Sweden would provide to the North Atlantic Alliance and how they would strengthen NATO’s strategic position.

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7 October 2022