Faculty of Social and Life Sciences Department of Social and Political Studies Reza A. Badian Norway and Sweden- allies in the war in Afghanistan A study of Norway’s and Sweden’s foreign policy regarding involvement in Afghanistan Master Degree dissertation of 30 credit points Master of Public Administration and Governance Date/Term: June 2011 Supervisor: Hans Lödén Examiner: Malin Stegmann McCallion Karlstads universitet 651 88 Karlstad Tfn 054-700 10 00 Fax 054-700 14 60
[email protected] www.kau.se 2 Abstract “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.