According to a Swedish politician, a heraldic tsar crown on T-shirts sold as souvenirs on a popular summer island may be utilized in “Russian propaganda”. 28.06.2022, Sputnik International
For generations, a nominally neutral Sweden could thrive only by aligning itself quietly, if unmistakably, with the American empire. Today, the country’s push for NATO membership is making that alignment explicit.
Is there life after empire? I last week pondered the question at the Engelsberg Seminar, a gathering of academics, journalists and policymakers held in a disused ironworks two hours by vehicle from Stockholm.
Sweden once controlled vast stretches of northern Europe. It then contented itself, after a series of military defeats, to a more modest existence as a small neutral power with a healthy welfare state.
Judging from the quantity and quality of champagne consumed at the seminar, life after empire can be pretty sweet so long as some other superpower can keep your world from falling apart.
For generations, a
One of the ironies of Russia’s war against Ukraine ostensibly fought to prevent that nation from joining NATO has been its impact on two of Europe’s traditionally neutral states, Finland and Sweden. On May 18, just 84 days after the invasion, Swedish and Finnish ambassadors handed over applications to join NATO in a public ceremony at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
“This is a historic moment which we must seize,” UN Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. “You are our closest partners, and your membership in NATO will increase our shared security.”
It seems likely that their applications would be swiftly approved,