Sweden joins NATO as 32nd member of trans-Atlantic military alliance

Sweden has become the 32nd member of NATO after completing the official process in Washington on the night of 7 March 2024. Sweden gained NATO membership as the Russia-Ukraine war completed two years in February.

Background of the incident:

• Sweden applied to join the NATO military alliance in February 2022, following the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine.
• Sweden's application was accepted after two years on March 7. In this context, Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson said that 'unity and solidarity' will remain the guiding principle for Sweden.

Sweden ended the policy of non-alignment:

• As Sweden becomes the 32nd member of NATO, Sweden's 200 years old non-alignment has also ended.
• Because NATO was created primarily against Russia.
• However, Sweden has formally maintained its distance from NATO until the 2022 Ukraine war.
• Swedish PM Ulf Christerson hailed his country's joining NATO on March 7 as a "victory for freedom." Sweden has made a free, democratic, sovereign and united choice to join NATO.
• Because Sweden ended two centuries of non-alignment after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Now Sweden protected under NATO's 5th Article:

• By joining NATO, Sweden is now able to get security under the 5th Article of NATO.
• Sweden now enjoys protection under Article 5 of NATO which is the ultimate guarantee of the freedom and security of NATO allies.
• Article 5 of NATO is considered the most important. Under this article, an attack on any NATO country is seen as an attack on the other member countries.
• The Swedish flag is expected to be raised over the Brussels headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance on March 11.

Russia threatens to take action against Sweden:

• Russia has threatened to take 'retaliatory action' over Sweden's entry into NATO. Especially if coalition forces and assets are deployed to Sweden.
• Sweden and Finland have historically avoided officially joining NATO, which was formed in the Cold War to unite against the Soviet Union.
• But, Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022 changed the foreign policy of these two countries. Finland joined NATO in 2023.
• Sweden's membership means that all countries around the Baltic Sea except Russia will be part of the US-led military alliance.

About North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):

• It is a military alliance formed on April 4, 1949 by Western European countries, including the United States, to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
• It is often called the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty).
• Currently it includes 32 member countries.

Countries that recently joined NATO:

• North Macedonia joined the alliance in 2020 as the 30th member.
• Finland joined the alliance in 2023 as the 31st member.
• Sweden joined the alliance on 7 March 2024 as the 32nd member.

Headquarters: Brussels

Official languages: English and French

Secretary General: Jens Stoltenberg

The Chairman of the Military Committee is Giampaolo Di Paola