Nordiskt försvarssamarbete : Är det en ny företeelse eller en fortsättning på det som tidigare ägt rum i hemlighet?

Sammanfattning: There are changes in Sweden's foreign policy, and Sweden is no longer a non-aligned and neutral nation. Sweden has expressed a willingness to actively participate in creating peace and stability in the world by giving and receiving military assistance in case of war, crisis or disaster. This is described as complete turnaround in Swedish policy compared to the neutrality and non-alignment during the Cold war. However new research shows that defence cooperation is not new in the Nordic region. Sweden cooperated secretly with Denmark and Norway, two NATO countries, about co-operative defence of Scandinavia during the Cold War. Is our historical picture wrong and what we perceive as new and revolutionized not particularly new? Is today's open Nordic defence cooperation a continuation of what was done in secret during the Cold War? The essay investigates and compares two different Swedish defence cooperation’s where one was previously secret and the other is open. By comparing the motives, objectives, drivers and outcomes differences and similarities in the design will be explained and compared. The study demonstrates significant differences in the motives and driving forces between the Cold War and today. The study has however revealed many similarities in the objectives and outcomes of the two defense cooperation.The study finds basis for further critical examination of the relationship between the Cold War secret defense cooperation, and today's open defense cooperation. The partnerships are in themselves not so different in design, however the world has changed and the reasons for cooperation are different. There are reasons to suggest that the curtain has been lifted and what has previously taken place secretly is today transparent but the defense cooperation has adapted to new threats and requirements.