En världsordning att försvara. Sveriges och Norges strategiska kommunikation för en liberal världsordning

The scope for this study is Sweden and Norway's strategic communication towards Russia after the annexation of the Crimea, a crisis with far-reaching impact on European security policy. The purpose has been to describe the communication and discuss improvements in order to draw conclusions about how it affects stability and security in the Nordic region. In the essay, the analysis is based on two essence-specific descriptions of the Ukrainian conflict. The Russian narrative in which Russia acts as a revisionist superpower is described by John J. Mearsheimer's offensive realism. The Western narrative is based on an inductive analysis of Sweden's and Norway's strategic communication towards Russia after the Ukrainian crisis began in 2014. The effects of the communication have subsequently been introduced into a Nordic context with the purpose to discuss and draw conclusions regarding how the communication affects the security situation of the two small states in the Baltic and the High North. How the communication can be evolved will also be discussed in order to make a better contribution to their security policy objectives. The analysis shows great similarities between Sweden's and Norway's objectives, both governments are pursuing an idealistic and uncompromising foreign policy for a liberal world order. Recurring themes in the communication are that the spread of democracy and liberal values creates security and that all states should have the right to persue their own foreign policy as long as the goal is a liberal democracy. This means that Sweden and Norway can not accept Russia's claim to a sphere of interest. The crucial difference between the two countries is how they ensure their own security and a credible security policy. Sweden emphasizes a military non-alignment policy whose credibility is undermined by increasingly closer cooperation with NATO and by advocating closer integration between NATO and the EU. Sweden is also unable to live up to its own declaration of solidarity because of the major disparity identified between the security policy communication and the credability of their military capabilities. For Norway, NATO is the foundation of the security policy and their loyalty to the alliance is clear in their communication. However, Norway is undermining its own and NATO credibility because they do not live up to the 2 percent target, which may adversely affect the United States' commitment to NATO and Europe. Norway has also approached EU and EU security cooperation. In order for the strategic communication to contribute to security and stability in the Nordic region, Sweden and Norway should maintain their liberal values. It builds relationships with other liberal democracies in the EU and with the United States and contributes to domestic support for the foreign policy. They should also strive to adapt the communication aimed at Russian interests in order to include Russia and support the Russian self-image as a superpower. This will give Russia international diplomatic and economic influence so that they can use other means than military power to persue their interests