Military and political cooperation of the United States with Finland and Sweden in modern times
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu06.2018.404Abstract
The modern U.S. foreign policy is facing a number of challenges. In the context of Europe, among other things, they can be characterized by the continuing confrontation with Russia and contradictions with regional allies. For example, Washington’s concern is the development of independent military-political approaches of the European Union and the creation of Permanent Structured Cooperation in security and defence spheres (PESCO). Additional negativity contributes the upcoming exit of the UK from the EU. This set of problems leads to the need to adjust the existing system of American unions in Europe. Against this background, the development of cooperation with Finland and Sweden can be very promising for Washington’s interests. Both countries, while not being members of NATO, tend to focus on the United States in their foreign policy. At the same time, cooperation with them may contribute to America’s interests advancing in Europe. Previously, relations with these countries were not very active, but the changes are becoming more and more obvious. So, in May 2018, a statement of intent was signed between the United States, Finland and Sweden to develop cooperation in the military and political domain. In addition, there is an increase in cooperation within the framework of the organization of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO). The scale of military activities exercised in northern Europe, in which the United States is actively involved, is also increasing. This article discusses the modern aspects of theU.S. military-political cooperation with Finland and Sweden. Special attention is paid to the importance of these countries for the American policy in Europe in the context of modern transatlantic contradictions, the interest of the U.S. military industrial complex on the European market and compensation for the Brexit. On the basis of the material studied, the author makes assumptions about further ways of cooperation between the three countries. The study was conducted on the basis of official government documents and the positions of Western and Russian experts.
Keywords:
US foreign policy, Finnish-American relations, Swedish-American relations, Russian-American relations, the Baltic region, transatlantic security
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Sweden’s Defence Policy 2016 to 2020. Government of Sweden, 06.01.2015. Available at: https://www.government.se/49c007/globalassets/government/dokument/forsvarsdepartementet/sweden_defence_policy_2016_to_2020 (accessed: 01.08.2018).
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