Changes in Swedish foreign policy between 2018 and 2024 and the impact of domestic political factors

This bachelor thesis examines changes in Swedish foreign policy between 2018 and 2024. The thesis aims to find out how the long-term features of this policy have changed, especially in the context of Sweden's accession to NATO and the change of government in 2022. It explores which of the changes were the result of the new right-wing government and its different political ideology, and which were influenced by other internal or external factors. First, the theoretical framework of the thesis is introduced, namely Hermann's model of foreign policy change, which allows for the analysis of the influence of both domestic and international factors. This is followed by an overview of the traditional features of Swedish foreign policy and how they have changed over the period through a comparison of the foreign policy priorities of the previous and current governments. Finally, it is investigated how the identified changes have been influenced by the other factors mentioned. The research is a qualitative case study using government documents, party programmes, academic literature, and the media. The analysis shows that there has been a significant shift towards an emphasis on security and defence at the expense of previous priorities such as humanitarian aid or feminist foreign policy. Yet none of the changes were solely due to a change of government. It was always a combination of several factors, most notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Public opinion and the views of senior military leaders also played a significant role. Thus, while the change of government was not the only determining factor in these changes, it did create the conditions for their implementation.