Centre for Democratic Resilience

The plan wants to build further on democratisation and see democratic structures as a counterweight to authoritarian right-wing forces, which in substance speaks for establishing a centre for democratic resilience in light of democratic backsliding. The support is however weakly anchored: the plan is principally critical of NATO and wants in the long term to leave the organisation, and says nothing about its institutions. The committee's reasoning concerns simplified preparation, which the plan does not address.

• deepened democracydecisive»Vi vill bygga vidare på Sveriges demokratisering.« (party programme ↗)“We want to build further on Sweden's democratisation.”
• democratisation of international bodies»Vi vill se en demokratisering av FN:s strukturer« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a democratisation of the UN's structures”
• critical stance towards NATO»med sikte på att lämna Nato.« (party programme ↗)“with the aim of leaving NATO.”

The plan requires that the rise of authoritarian regimes be met with a resolute defence of democracy and wants to see action against disinformation and hybrid threats. NATO is according to the plan the best way for Sweden's security, and Sweden should be active in the alliance. A centre for democratic resilience within NATO thus aligns with the plan.

• defence of democracydecisive»Framväxten av auktoritära styren runt om i världen ska mötas med ett resolut försvar av folkstyret« (party programme ↗)“The rise of authoritarian regimes around the world shall be met with a resolute defence of democracy”
• against disinformation»Åtgärder mot desinformation, hatpropaganda och hot.« (party programme ↗)“Action against disinformation, hate speech and threats.”
• resilience against hybrid threats»Beredskap mot hybridattacker.« (party programme ↗)“Preparedness against hybrid attacks.”
• active NATO membership»Ett svenskt medlemskap i Nato är den bästa vägen för vårt lands säkerhet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish membership in NATO is the best way for our country's security”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that Sweden within NATO stands up for democracy, transparency and human rights and that membership should be reserved for democratic countries. A centre for democratic resilience within NATO is a concrete expression of the same commitment, given the plan's concern about democratic backsliding. The plan does not, however, mention any such body.

• democracy within NATOdecisive»Vi vill att Sverige även fortsättningsvis står upp för grundläggande värden som demokrati, transparens och mänskliga rättigheter – både inom och utanför Nato.« (party programme ↗)“We want Sweden to continue to stand up for fundamental values such as democracy, transparency and human rights – both within and outside NATO.”
• NATO for democracies»Vi vill också att medlemskapet i Nato ska vara förbehållet demokratiska länder.« (party programme ↗)“We also want NATO membership to be reserved for democratic countries.”
• voice for democracy»Miljöpartiet kommer alltid att vara en röst för demokrati och fred världen över.« (party programme ↗)“The Green Party will always be a voice for democracy and peace around the world.”
• democratic backsliding»Den tillbakagång av flera demokratier som skett under och efter 2010-talet visar att vi inte kan ta våra rättigheter för givet.« (party programme ↗)“The backsliding of several democracies that has occurred during and after the 2010s shows that we cannot take our rights for granted.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto states that liberal democracy must never be taken for granted and points to the authoritarian retreat in country after country as a threat to be met. The party programme requires that citizens in democratic countries not compromise with their ideals. A centre for democratic resilience within NATO is a direct application of these commitments.

• protect liberal democracydecisive»Den liberala demokratin får aldrig tas för given.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Liberal democracy must never be taken for granted.”
• meet authoritarian retreat»I flera länder har auktoritära ledare försvagat och i vissa fall monterat ner den liberala demokratin bit för bit.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In several countries, authoritarian leaders have weakened and in some cases dismantled liberal democracy bit by bit.”
• do not compromise with democracy»Därför är det särskilt viktigt att vi, medborgare i de demokratiska länderna, inte kompromissar med våra ideal utan förenas i en strävan efter alla människors fri- och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore, it is particularly important that we, citizens of the democratic countries, do not compromise with our ideals but unite in a striving for all people's freedoms and rights.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan makes the defense of democracy the foundation for Sweden's and the EU's foreign policy and establishes that security policy shall be based on cooperation with other democracies. A centre for democratic resilience within NATO is a concrete expression of that line, especially as democracy retreats in several member states. The plan also requires that Sweden provide support to those working for democratization.

• defense of democracy guides foreign policydecisive»Och vi är rösten för att försvaret av demokratin – även långt bortom Europas gränser – alltid ska utgöra grunden för Sveriges och EU:s utrikespolitik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“And we are the voice for the defense of democracy — even far beyond Europe's borders — always to form the foundation for Sweden's and the EU's foreign policy.”
• cooperation between democracies»Grunden för Sveriges säkerhetspolitik ska vara samarbete med andra demokratier.« (party programme ↗)“The foundation for Sweden's security policy shall be cooperation with other democracies.”
• support for pro-democracy forces»Sverige ska vara en röst för global frihet och ge stöd åt de modiga människor som verkar för demokratisering av världens återstående diktaturer.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall be a voice for global freedom and provide support to the courageous people working for democratization of the world's remaining dictatorships.”
• values-driven foreign policy»Vi kallar det för vad det är: en ny värderingsstyrd utrikespolitik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We call it what it is: a new values-driven foreign policy.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan makes the promotion of democracy and human rights a main goal of foreign policy and says that appropriate joint institutions should exist to streamline international cooperation. A centre for democratic resilience within the alliance is exactly such an institutional tool. The plan also links democratic societal tradition to the ability to avoid armed conflicts.

• democracy as a foreign policy goaldecisive»Svensk utrikespolitik ska främja fred, frihet, demokrati och utveckling samt mänskliga rättigheter, förståelse och försoning.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish foreign policy shall promote peace, freedom, democracy and development as well as human rights, understanding and reconciliation.”
• joint institutions»För att öka samt effektivisera internationellt samarbete i dessa frågor bör lämpliga gemensamma institutioner finnas.« (party programme ↗)“To increase and streamline international cooperation on these issues, appropriate joint institutions should exist.”
• democracy prevents conflict»Den bästa förutsättningen för att undvika väpnade konflikter är att främja respekten för de mänskliga rättigheterna och att säkra en demokratisk samhällstradition.« (party programme ↗)“The best condition for avoiding armed conflicts is to promote respect for human rights and ensure a democratic societal tradition.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not address NATO's institutional structure. The nearest principle is that Sweden should get the most possible military effect from membership and be a security producer, and that international cooperations should not grow at the expense of member states. The plan places protection of liberal democracy on national institutions such as the Security Police, not on a new NATO center.

• NATO as military security producerdecisive»Sverige ska som medlem i Nato vara en säkerhetsproducent i vårt närområde och även få ut mesta möjliga effekt av medlemskapet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden as a NATO member should be a security producer in our neighborhood and also get the most possible effect from membership.”
• international bodies should not swell»Men EU ska aldrig utvecklas på medlemsstaternas bekostnad.« (party programme ↗)“But the EU should never develop at the expense of member states.”
• democracy protection nationally»Stärka Säkerhetspolisen för att öka deras förmåga att skydda den liberala demokratin och landets alla medborgare« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the Security Police to increase their ability to protect liberal democracy and all the country's citizens”

The plan directs international cooperation towards defence, security and Swedish interests, and views interstate cooperation as wholly sufficient with scepticism towards the building of supranational structures. A new centre for democratic resilience within NATO is such a new structure outside the alliance's core security task. The plan's requirement to be a clear voice for the democratic model pulls in the other direction, so the assessment is uncertain.

• interstate cooperation sufficesdecisive»nationalstater, är fullt tillräckligt. Vi ser med stark skepsis på samarbeten som tar sig« (party programme ↗)“nation states, is wholly sufficient. We view with strong scepticism cooperation that takes”
• Swedish interests»Värna svenska intressen i internationella sammanhang« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Protect Swedish interests in international contexts”
• minimum bureaucracy»minimum av byråkrati skall genomsyra all offentlig verksamhet.« (party programme ↗)“minimum of bureaucracy shall permeate all public activity.”
• voice for the democratic model»Vara en tydlig röst för den västerländska demokratimodellen och mänskliga fri- och rättigheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Be a clear voice for the Western democratic model and human rights and freedoms”