“Norway and Sweden- allies in the war in Afghanistan”

A study of Norway’s and Sweden’s foreign policy regarding involvement in Afghanistan

This thesis intends to identify Sweden’s and Norway’s Afghan policies and to explore how these policies can be explained through perspectives of both realism and liberalism.

Study intends to use theories within realism and liberalism to investigate if an overall strategy behind Afghan policies can be identified. The study is based on qualitative-comparative analysis of Swedish and Norwegian foreign policy statements, delivered by Ministers of Foreign Affairs in each of the two countries in question.

The results of the study indicate that Afghan policies of both Norway and Sweden are a mixture of both realist and liberal policies with preponderance of liberal policies.

Use of military force as an indication of realism’s ultima ratio in international politics and liberal policies towards Afghanistan as indications of liberalization process of a non-liberal state.

These two theoretical perspectives can be regarded as a continuum as opposed to two discontinuous opposite poles, when analyzing Afghan policies of Norway and Sweden.

International liberalism is argued to be the overall strategy that is driving the Afghan policies of Norway and Sweden forward.

Key words: Norway’s Afghan policy, Sweden’s Afghan policy, realism, liberalism, liberalization process, security community, liberal internationalism.