Swedish Foreign Policy and China : A cas e study of Sweden’s foreign policy ideationalfoundation toward China during the period 2015 2020

Sammanfattning: The bilateral relations between Sweden and China have been characterized by strong trade relations over the years. Nonetheless, several events between 2015 and 2020 have led the diplomatic relations between Sweden and China to take a different turn. Among them, the arrest of the Chinese-born Swedish writer and book publisher Gui Minhai and the alleged abuse of human rights by the Chinese government towards its population. These issues raise questions on how the Swedish government approaches the opportunities and challenges of China’s growing role internationally. This thesis has the purpose to analyse the Swedish government’s reports, statements and other documents regarding China in the period 2015 to 2020, with the intention of unveiling the Swedish foreign policy ideational foundation. Moreover, this thesis has the aim to examine whether it is possible to see a variation of the ideational foundation during these years. The analysis included the use of social constructivism as a theory and the VDP-triad methodology. From the analysis, it resulted that in the observed time period, Sweden’s foreign policy ideational foundation was characterized by the value of cooperation, especially regarding trade. Moreover, during the period observed Sweden characterized for being more active on criticizing China in regard to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. With China, Sweden is thus forced to balance two competing agendas: to pursue its interests and to promote its values.