Var verkligen Sverige neutralt under andra världskriget? : En teorikonusmerande fallstudie av midsommarkrisen

Sammanfattning: The debate about Sweden's neutrality during the Second World War has been highly discussed. Sweden declared itself neutral at the beginning of the war, but were they actually neutral during the war? This thesis will try to investigate if Sweden violated its neutrality according to the Hague Convention during the midsummer crisis 1941, and if it is the case, in what way? The survey will also try to understand and explain Sweden´s course of actions during the crisis based on two different theoretical perspectives, realism and liberalism. A theory-consuming case study will be used to try to answer these questions above. Sweden´s actions during the crisis correspond with the realist perspective but can also be partially explained by the perspective of liberalism. Sweden has primarily acted from its self-interest, for example to preserve its peace and freedom when they accepted the demands presented by Nazi Germany in the beginning of the crisis. However, the realist perspective does not explain if it was wrong by Sweden when they violated its neutrality. From the perspective of liberalism, Sweden has primarily tried to preserve its independence, peace, and freedom. The perspective also has an opinion when a country violates their neutrality. In this case, it was wrong by Sweden to act in that way.