Tuomas Forsberg discusses the paradoxes in Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership

In May, the Department of Scandinavian Studies and the Jackson School for International Studies hosted Dr. Tuomas Forsberg, Professor of International Relations at Tampere University, Finland. Dr. Forsberg visited many UW classrooms and gave a public research talk, “Ten Paradoxes of Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership.” Among these paradoxes, “NATO membership represented both change and continuity. For the region, NATO’s northern enlargement has both increased stability and heightened tensions. For Russia, NATO’s enlargement to Finland and Sweden was both expected and a major surprise. Yet, the greatest paradox of all can be that Finland and Sweden joined the alliance just before its entire logic was challenged by a new NATO-skeptical US administration.” According to Dr. Forsberg, the pressure to join NATO mounted at an opportune moment when both countries were led by social democratic prime ministers, who might have otherwise formed the opposition had they not been in power. With a groundswelling of public support for joining NATO in Feb 2022, the path for political action became clear. Finally, Dr. Forsberg believes that joining NATO will strengthen Nordic defense cooperation, because all Nordic members have equal standing in the alliance.