The northern tandem. The Swedish-Finnish defence cooperation. OSW Commentary NUMBER 298 | 20.03.2019

Szymański, Piotr (2019) The northern tandem. The Swedish-Finnish defence cooperation. OSW Commentary NUMBER 298 | 20.03.2019. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

In response to the change in the security environment after 2014, militarily non-aligned Sweden and Finland are developing their defence cooperation with NATO and the USA and strengthening their bilateral defence relationship. Although a bilateral alliance is unlikely, the two states are suggesting that, were a situation of a conflict in the Nordic-Baltic region to occur, the hypothetical aggressor will need to take into account their cooperation and joint actions with NATO. The Northern Wind 2019 exercises carried out in March 2019, whose scenario includes the defence of northern Sweden, are a display of the interoperability of the Swedish and Finnish armed forces. However, the military synergy between Sweden and Finland is limited by the differences in their respective models of armed forces, years-long insufficient defence expenditure, and military personnel cuts.

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