Folkpartiets syn på svensk säkerhets- och utrikespolitik 1956-1974 : En jämförande analys av Folkpartiets syn på svensk säkerhets- och utrikespolitiska frågor i förhållande till regeringen

The socialdemokrats’ long possession of government power from the 1930’s to 1976 gave them the opportunity to put their stamp on Swedish domestic and foreign affairs in the shadow of the cold war. The government policy in security and foreign affairs, therefore, was that of the socialdemokratic party. The stance of the government has been researched, but it lacks focus on the opposition. The purpose of this paper is to analyse Folkpartiet´s view of security and foreign affairs in comparison with government policy. The study is built around three years that are case studied: 1956, 1965 and 1974. More specific is the Folkpartiet’s stance in the foreign affairs debates in the parliament during those specific years that are being investigated. For this purpose, five questions have been formulated: What kind of goals did the Folkpartiet have with security and foreign policy during the investigated period of time? Did there exist an agreement between the goals of the government and the Folkpartiet? Did the Folkpartiet mark their own line in specific security and foreign policy questions? On which specific security and foreign policy questions was the Folkpartiet in agreement with the government? Finally, does Folkpartiet’s present stance in favour of Swedish membership in NATO have any historical substance? The study shows that the Folkpartiet are in agreement with the government’s policy of being neutral during the whole investigated period of time. The Folkpartiet are constantly critical towards the Soviet Union, defend Israel in the state’s conflict with neighbouring countries and favour third world countries. The parties are in most agreement when the government decides to side with either part in a conflict. When the government decides not to do so, it causes criticism from the Folkpartiet