FINSK OCH SVENSK UTRIKES-OCH SÄKERHETSPOLITIK I RELATION TILL NATO

Sammanfattning: This study is based on qualitative text analysis, more specifically content analysis with the aim of investigating Finland and Sweden's NATO application. It will be done based on an explanation of foreign policy change, using three international political theories, liberalism, realism, and constructivism. It is above all the basic prerequisites for an application being submitted in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier in February this year that must be investigated. The unprovoked and offensive invasion has resulted in the international security situation being uncertain for most all parties, with more states now choosing to upgrade their security policies in times of ongoing crisis. The following essay contributes a new perspective to the study of foreign policy change by directing the focus to theoretical viewpoints on the NATO application. The result claims that based on liberalism, the countries applied due to opinion majority formation and opinion change, nevertheless, the expansion of international collaborations. Based on realism, the countries applied for membership to expand and ensure the survival of the state, which is best done through military means. That Russia advocates great power change must not be taken for granted either. Constructivism's perspective on the countries' NATO application is in turn based on the interaction between states with equivalent norms, tensions, and premises. As well as the maintenance of Nordic and Western identity. Further research should focus on the actual membership if the application is approved and the interaction between democratic and authoritarian states in the same organization.