SWEDEN AND NORDIC BALANCE

Abstract

Abstract : Sweden's role as a great world power ended when Karl XII was defeated at the Battle of Poltava in the Ukraine in 1709. The Baltic provinces had to be ceded to Russia, and Peter the Great moved his capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg (now Leningrad). Russia thus arose as a major power on the Baltic, envisioning then as now that the Baltic provided access to Europe and a natural outlet for the Russian Empire to the west. Although relegated to the status of a third rate power, Sweden has continued to a surprising degree, to influence world events in the Twentieth Century. This influence is exerted largely by its national vigor, by its example of social and industrial progress, by its contributions to humanitarian causes, by its activist participation in international organizations, and by its military involvement in the peacekeeping operations of the United Nations. Modern Sweden occupies a central position at the head of the Baltic, on NATO's northern flank. Except for the Finnish crisis of 1961, when the Soviet Union threatened to invoke the consultation provisions of the Soviet-Finnish Mutual Assistance Treaty as a counteraction to growing West German strength in the Baltic, relative quiet has generally prevailed. The northern calm and stability stand in sharp contrast with the events of the Mediterranean area, where recent inflammatory events focus the attention of planners, and policy and decision makers on the threats to NATO's southern flank. The buildup of the Soviet Navy in the Mediterranean, the increasing Soviet influence in the Arab states because of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the problems of base rights in Franco Spain, and grant aid support for the military dictatorship in Greece are but a few examples of major Mediterranean problems. Although less volatile, the Baltic and the Scandinavian peninsula are in many respects significant to western defense.