Minna Ålander

Northern Europe is not at peace. The battle is real and far more dangerous than the public has grasped. In this war, there are no frontlines. Attack vectors shift daily, probing weaknesses, exploiting vulnerabilities, and seizing opportunities. The weapon of choice is what we in the West call hybrid warfare, targeting our institutions, our infrastructure, our alliances, and our minds. Resilience is necessary, but not sufficient, to win this hybrid war. This book shows how countries on the northern flank are strengthening national capabilities and deepening cross-border cooperation to detect, disrupt, and respond to hybrid threats—offering a blueprint for hybrid deterrence.

On May 18, 2022, the Swedish and Finnish NATO ambassadors formally submitted their countries’ membership applications to the alliance. In doing so, they ended decades – in Sweden’s case, centuries – of military nonalignment and overlapping but varied security arrangements in the Nordics and Baltics. Sweden and Finland, whose bilateral defense cooperation has deepened substantially in recent years, will now contribute to NATO’s defense of the Arctic and the Baltic Sea region. In this anthology, launched in cooperation between Stockholm Free World Forum and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, writers from Sweden, Finland, and beyond explore how Sweden and Finland will adapt to NATO and vice versa. The chapters deal with topics such as how Sweden and Finland will contribute to burden sharing and specialization within NATO, what lessons can be drawn from past enlargements, and how Sweden and Finland can help the alliance deal with hybrid threats.