Swedish Vietnam criticism reconsidered: Social Democratic Vietnam policy a manifestation of Swedish Ostpolitik?

Abstract

Between 1965 and 1973, Sweden's Social Democratic government emerged as the most strident West European critic of the American war effort in Indochina. Although the latter's unmatched militancy on the Vietnam question had its origins in Swedish domestic politics, this policy likewise had implications for the country's relations to both superpowers. Given that Swedish Vietnam criticism coincided with the relative decline of American economic and military strength as well as with the Soviets' attainment of nuclear parity, this article asks whether this policy might be interpreted as one component in a broader strategy to secure the Kremlin's good graces at a time when the strategic balance in Europe appeared to be on the verge of shifting in the USSR's favour? It concludes that – regardless of whether or not this policy was, at first, intentionally designed to have this effect – it ultimately served to put Swedish–Soviet relations on a better footing.