Consistency and Adaptability: New Aspects of the Arctic Policy of Sweden

The article is an analytical review of Sweden’s Arctic policy since the adoption of the country’s first Arctic strategy in 2011 until nowadays. The priorities of Sweden’s 2011 Arctic Strategy in the areas of environmental protection, economic cooperation and human life in the Arctic are analyzed. Sweden’s chairmanship programs at the Arctic Council for 2011–2013 and at the Barents Euro-Arctic Council for 2017–2019 are assessed for compliance with the national Arctic strategy priorities. The participation of Sweden in projects under the auspices of the Arctic Council in the 2010s and at present is presented. The content of the updated Sweden’s Arctic strategy of 2020 is analyzed. The updated strategy is compared with the strategy of 2011; the reasons for the enlargement of the thematic coverage of Sweden’s Arctic strategy of 2020 (additional priorities are international cooperation in the Arctic, security and stability in the region, and scientific cooperation) are explained. The reasons for Sweden’s emphasis on security issues in the Arctic are explained. It is concluded that Sweden’s Arctic policy from 2011 to the present is consistent and adaptable due to the changing climatic, economic, political and military situation in the Arctic region. The desire of Sweden to cooperate with the Nordic countries and NATO in the field of military cooperation in the Arctic is marked as a new tendency in Sweden’s Arctic policy. The new role of the European Union, Canada and Germany in the implementation of Swedish Arctic policy at the present stage is traced. Sweden’s Arctic strategy is also estimated in correspondence to the provisions of the Arctic Council Strategic Plan for 2021–2030.