SWEDEN IN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL : Influence and history in high-table diplomacy

Sammanfattning: The Swedish state has participated as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council three times and is entering their fourth. The UNSC is an old institution that is not equal to what powers the states within it has. The permanent states, the victors from the second world war, have a more prominent role in the council and do not have to be elected every two years as the other states that want to be a part of the council. The cost of for small states like Sweden to be a part of the council can be quite large, but in financial means and as a time-consuming task for the foreign department. Therefore, it is essential to know if the time spent in the council for a state like Sweden amounts to something in the sense of influence over the outcome. This bears the question if Sweden has used and is using its membership in the UNSC in an effective manner. By looking at the official documentation by the foreign department and interviewing former diplomats about Sweden’s role in the UNSC during these periods this thesis analyses the way that Sweden has acted before. Furthermore, the thesis also looks at the first five weeks in the current period of 2017. The results are analyzed through a theoretical framework of what should be methods to achieve influence in the UNSC. As the analysis shows, Sweden has moved from being a more passive participant to a more active and proactive part of the UNSC. This, however, can come at the cost of changing other states view of the Swedish state in international relations.