{"id":21061,"date":"2023-06-28T15:56:16","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T12:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tkp.org.tr\/?p=21061"},"modified":"2023-06-28T16:03:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T13:03:20","slug":"interview-with-andreas-sorensen-on-the-process-of-swedens-application-for-nato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tkp.org.tr\/en\/agenda\/interview-with-andreas-sorensen-on-the-process-of-swedens-application-for-nato\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Andreas S\u00f6rensen on the process of Sweden’s application for NATO"},"content":{"rendered":"

There have been claims that Sweden has broken its long-standing neutrality with its\u00a0application for NATO membership. Do you agree with this assessment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sweden has had a long history of official neutrality, which once and for all is now broken.\u00a0However, this official neutrality has never been any actual neutrality. There are countless\u00a0examples of how Sweden in reality has never been neutral, but has always taken positions that\u00a0have strengthened Swedish capital. This is also logical, as there is no neutrality under capitalism;\u00a0one cannot principally stand on the side lines and not engage.\u00a0Although officially neutral, Sweden has maintained close ties with the Western European\u00a0imperialist powers and with the USA. This has manifested itself in a number of ways: allowing the\u00a0transit of German troops to help in the occupation of Norway during the Second World War; the\u00a0construction of a secret army during the Cold War within the framework of Operation Gladio;\u00a0close cooperation with Western secret services; common military drills with Nato, and not to\u00a0mention the extensive export of armaments to primarily Western countries.\u00a0Throughout all of this, Sweden has maintained a position of official neutrality. What has
\nhappened now is that politics has caught up to reality.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is the Swedish government so determined about NATO membership? What does it\u00a0expect? And has there been a difference\u00a0in approach in this respect after the government\u00a0reshuffle last year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There has been no significant difference in approach since the government reshuffle. One must\u00a0keep in mind that this process was initiated by the previous government after it had secured the\u00a0support of the right-wing parties. There is complete agreement in the current process.\u00a0Behind this entire process one can clearly see the sharpening contradictions within the capitalist\u00a0system and how they sharpen. The rivalries between the capitalist powers are becoming more\u00a0and more acute, which is manifested by the war in the Ukraine, and Sweden is also drawn into\u00a0this.
\nSweden is a small country but with a very well-developed capitalism, whose tentacles spread\u00a0across the world. Of special importance in this regard are the Swedish investments into the Baltic\u00a0countries, which come into direct conflict with the Russian counterparts. Not having the means to\u00a0assert its own interests by itself, it is necessary for Swedish capital to seek allies, and naturally\u00a0enough, this has been done in Nato and the EU, to counteract Russian interests.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do you, as communists living and struggling in Sweden, evaluate this approach to\u00a0foreign policy? How should we expect this to affect social conditions in Sweden if NATO\u00a0membership is realised?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Primarily, we see this as a natural step for Swedish capital, and our analyses focus on the role\u00a0this plays in furthering the interests of Swedish capital. We see the necessity, out of which\u00a0Swedish capital must seek allies and we see how this becomes a pressing matter in a context of\u00a0sharpening contradictions.\u00a0We do not recognize the previous policy of neutrality, as it was nowhere near neutral, and we see\u00a0that this move openly brings the policies of the government in line with big capital.<\/p>\n

Of course, we expect nothing good to come from this. We expect a heightened militarism on the\u00a0side of Sweden, with an even bigger participation of Swedish militaries in imperialist interventions\u00a0across the globe \u2013 remembering that Sweden already has or have had troops in countries such\u00a0as Afghanistan, Kosovo, Mali and Libya. We will see a strengthening of the military presence\u00a0within our borders and attempts to normalize this in the eyes of the population.\u00a0We will see, and are already seeing, a huge increase in military spending, which will drain what\u00a0welfare is left of its funding.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The results of publicised polls show that an increasing proportion of the Swedish\u00a0people are in favour of NATO membership. As far as we have been able to track, this\u00a0percentage has recently risen above 60 per cent. What is at the root of this support?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is a very interesting question and I find it rather difficult to give a short answer to it.\u00a0To begin with, we have to see how people are being driven into a false dichotomy. This is the\u00a0same dichotomy that a lot of self-professed communists are being driven into as well, but from\u00a0the opposite side. People are presented with a choice: either for NATO or for Russia. In the same\u00a0way, many self-proclaimed communists choose the side of Russia in the war, in the false belief\u00a0that one must choose one of the sides that are presented.\u00a0This dichotomy, which we do not accept, is being presented to the public by a very effective\u00a0media machinery. On the one hand, Sweden has a very concentrated media ownership, with\u00a0more or less two families owning a majority of the media outlets. On the other hand, Sweden has\u00a0a very effective public service, which presents news according to the interests of the state \u2013 that\u00a0is, according to the interests of big capital. The big advantage with public service is that it is\u00a0easier to maintain the illusion of neutrality.\u00a0Critical voices are given no room to debate or to present their views, which means that the public\u00a0are presented with only one perspective \u2013 that of pro-NATO.
\nHowever, we must also recognize one thing: the attitudes of the people towards the war are\u00a0genuine. Faced with an invasion such as this, people become angry and afraid. Faced with war,\u00a0they distance themselves from it. In essence, these are positive feelings. In and of themselves,\u00a0these are human feelings. We feel the same abhorrence.\u00a0Lacking theory, lacking positive political ideals and, we must say, an influential revolutionary\u00a0communist party, people are left to what they are served, and these genuine feelings are turned
\ninto support for another imperialist bloc and other imperialist powers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And what is the situation on the anti-NATO side? Is it possible to speak of such social\u00a0resistance in Sweden?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No, not in any meaningful way. Certainly, there are different organisations and coalitions that\u00a0oppose NATO and the membership process. The most vocal ones are the organisations that\u00a0work in support of the Kurdish movement.
\nHowever, they are small and they are riddled with ideological inconsistencies. For example, one\u00a0of the main slogans of these protests have been \u201cNo alliance with a fascist\u201d, referring to the\u00a0Turkish president. We have criticised this because it completely misses the point \u2013 we do not\u00a0oppose NATO because Erdogan is in it, but because it is an imperialist organisation, regardless\u00a0of whether Erdogan is there or not. Slogans like these help shift the focus from the question of\u00a0imperialism and the sharpening contradictions within the system to perspectives beneficial to the\u00a0ruling class.
\nThis is why we have chosen to formally stand aside from these protests, as they would force from\u00a0us a compromise we are not willing to make. In essence, this is the logic of the lesser evil, where\u00a0the communists compromise on basic positions to help achieve short-term victories; however, in\u00a0the end, it helps distort reality.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turkey is one of the two NATO countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s\u00a0membership. The ongoing negotiations on this issue are on the agenda of Turkey’s\u00a0domestic politics as well as its foreign policy. In the meantime, communists in Turkey\u00a0continue to explain what the expansion of NATO would mean both for Turkish people and\u00a0for the peoples of the world. What would Swedish communists like to say on this subject\u00a0to the readers of SoL News Portal and to the people of Turkey in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We believe that we cannot explain the expansion of NATO without explaining the imperialist\u00a0system; we cannot avoid these topics and we must be clear what drives the development. Like\u00a0you, we do our best to shatter the illusions that people have and to show reality for what it is. We\u00a0must continue to do this. There cannot be a revolutionary resistance to NATO without a\u00a0revolutionary understanding of the world.
\nThe struggle against NATO is one of the most important struggles that we face today, as it is the\u00a0strongest imperialist alliance in the world, and it becomes increasingly aggressive as it faces\u00a0competition. However, we must not fall into the trap of regarding everyone that is against NATO\u00a0as friends and allies; we must not resort to the idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We\u00a0must chart our own path and construct our own opposition to NATO and imperialism, based on\u00a0revolutionary socialist ideas.
\nWe must have confidence in the people, that they are able to see what we see and act according\u00a0to their own interests. We must not insult their capacity by diluting our politics. Instead, we must\u00a0hold them to the highest standard and make it very clear that it is only the people that can save\u00a0the people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

https:\/\/haber.sol.org.tr\/haber\/nato-karsitligini-devrimci-sosyalist-fikirler-temelinde-kurmaliyiz-378839<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There have been claims that Sweden has broken its long-standing neutrality with its\u00a0application for NATO membership. Do you agree with this assessment?   Sweden has had a long history of official neutrality, which once and for all is now broken.\u00a0However, this official neutrality has never been any actual neutrality. There are countless\u00a0examples of how Sweden […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":21062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[255,262,258],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Andreas S\u00f6rensen on the process of Sweden's application for NATO - T\u00fcrkiye Kom\u00fcnist Partisi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tkp.org.tr\/en\/agenda\/interview-with-andreas-sorensen-on-the-process-of-swedens-application-for-nato\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with Andreas S\u00f6rensen on the process of Sweden's application for NATO - T\u00fcrkiye Kom\u00fcnist Partisi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There have been claims that Sweden has broken its long-standing neutrality with its\u00a0application for NATO membership. 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