A clear decision procedure for participation in NATO's collective defence and deterrence activities

The plan states that the people's political power is exercised by the Riksdag and sees fundamental problems with NATO's structure. A provision that lets the government on its own dispatch armed troops for vaguely defined matters of important national interest shifts power from the popularly elected body and increases the risk of Sweden being drawn into missions. The counter-proposal's demand that precisely that part not be carried out thus aligns with the plan's democracy and peace line.

• Riksdag's supremacydecisive»Folkets politiska makt över staten ska utövas av riksdagen, tillsatt genom allmänna, fria och rättvisa val« (party programme ↗)“The people's political power over the state shall be exercised by the Riksdag, established through universal, free and fair elections”
• criticism of NATO»Vi ser grundläggande problem med Natos uppbyggnad.« (party programme ↗)“We see fundamental problems with NATO's structure.”
• peace and de-escalation»Vänsterpartiet står för fred och deeskalering. Vi vänder oss emot militarisering och kapprustning.« (party programme ↗)“Left Party stands for peace and de-escalation. We oppose militarization and arms escalation.”

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 sees the principle that all public power emanates from the people and parliamentary democracy as fundamental and requires protection of civil liberties and rights and rule-of-law principles. An independent decision-making right for government to deploy armed troops for poorly defined national interests, without elected representatives being informed, contradicts this. The plan's strong NATO commitment pulls in the other direction, so the assessment is uncertain.

• parliamentary democracy fundamentaldecisive»ser principen om att all offentlig makt utgår från folket och den parlamentariska demokratin« (party programme ↗)“sees the principle that all public power emanates from the people and parliamentary democracy”
• protection of liberties and rights»Skydd för medborgerliga fri- och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Protection of civil liberties and rights.”
• rule-of-law principles»Slå vakt om rättsstatens principer.« (party programme ↗)“Protect the principles of the rule of law.”
• Swedish NATO membership»Sverige ska gå med i Nato. Ett svenskt medlemskap i Nato är den bästa vägen för vårt lands säkerhet och Sverige har därför lämnat in sin medlemsansökan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall join NATO. A Swedish NATO membership is the best way for our country's security and Sweden has therefore submitted its application for membership.”

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 establishes that excessive concentration of power is undemocratic and that power should always be critically scrutinized, and that NATO membership must be combined with an independent and peace-oriented security policy. A separate decision right for the government to deploy armed troops for vaguely defined national interests shifts power away from the elected body. The counter-proposal's requirement that precisely that part not be implemented thus aligns with the plan.

• power shall be shared and scrutinizeddecisive»Överdriven maktkoncentration är odemokratiskt och korrumperar.« (party programme ↗)“Excessive concentration of power is undemocratic and corrupting.”
• independent security policy»Sveriges medlemskap i Nato måste förenas med en självständig utrikes- och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's NATO membership must be combined with an independent foreign and”
• peace and relaxation»säkerhets- och försvarspolitik ska präglas av en strävan efter fred, avspänning och« (party programme ↗)“security and defence policy should be characterized by a striving for peace, relaxation and”
• careful legal security examination»prövas noggrant utifrån rättssäkerhet och grundläggande fri- och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“examined carefully based on legal security and fundamental 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 wants to protect the Riksdag's and opposition's position and warns against concentrating powers to a few institutions. A rule that allows the government to unilaterally deploy armed forces to protect ambiguously defined national interests shifts power away from the elected assembly. The plan wants to complete NATO membership, which indicates capacity for action, but it does not assign the decision-making power to be moved.

• protect the Riksdag's positiondecisive»Våra demokratiska institutioner behöver skydd. Vi vill göra det svårare att ändra grundlagen, skydda oppositionens ställning i riksdagen och stärka domstolarnas oberoende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions need protection. We want to make it harder to change the constitution, protect the opposition's position in the Riksdag and strengthen the independence of the courts.”
• separation of powers against centralization»en maktdelning där politiska beslut och andra maktbefogenheter inte centraliseras« (party programme ↗)“a separation of powers where political decisions and other powers are not centralized”
• control of the state's monopoly on force»Staten är den enda enheten i samhället som får utöva tvång och våld.« (party programme ↗)“The state is the only entity in society that is allowed to exercise coercion and force.”
• rearmament and NATO membership»Centerpartiet vill rusta försvaret, stärka Sveriges civila beredskap och fullfölja inträdet i Nato.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Centre Party wants to strengthen defence, strengthen Sweden's civil preparedness and complete NATO accession.”

The plan establishes that security is created in alliances and that Sweden within NATO must in particular be able to contribute to the defense of Finland and the Baltic states, which requires the ability to make swift decisions about participation. The counter-proposal wants to strike precisely the provision that grants this decision-making power to protect important national interests. The plan values parliamentary oversight, but its commitment to full participation in the alliance's activities weighs heavier here.

• full NATO membershipdecisive»Därför ska Sverige gå med i Nato och tillsammans med USA, Kanada och våra europeiska grannar försvara både Sverige och vår del av världen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore Sweden must join NATO and together with the USA, Canada and our European neighbors defend both Sweden and our part of the world.”
• active contribution within NATO»Sverige ska inom Nato särskilt kunna bidra med den infrastruktur som behövs för att skapa ett nödvändigt och strategiskt djup för försvaret av Finland och Baltikum.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden must within NATO in particular be able to contribute the infrastructure needed to create necessary and strategic depth for the defense of Finland and the Baltic states.”
• security through cooperation»Grunden för Sveriges säkerhetspolitik ska vara samarbete med andra demokratier.« (party programme ↗)“The foundation of Sweden's security policy must be cooperation with other democracies.”
• transparency in decision-making»möjligheter att följa den politiska processen och påverka beslutsfattandet.« (party programme ↗)“opportunities to follow the political process and influence decision-making.”

The party programme requires a clear separation of powers between legislative and executive power and that the decision-making process is transparent so that responsibility can be demanded. A vaguely formulated authorization to independently deploy armed forces for urgent national interests without informing the Riksdag sits ill with that order. At the same time, the plan requires close cooperation in the alliance, which is why the support is weak.

• clear separation of powersdecisive»Därför kräver en fungerande demokrati en klar maktdelning mellan den lagstiftande, den verkställande och den dömande makten.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore, a functioning democracy requires a clear separation of powers between the legislative, the executive and the judicial power.”
• transparent decision-making process»Beslutsprocessen måste vara överblickbar för medborgarna och därmed ge möjlighet att utkräva ansvar.« (party programme ↗)“The decision-making process must be transparent to citizens and thus provide the opportunity to demand responsibility.”
• independent Swedish decisions»insatser ska genomföras först efter självständiga svenska beslut.« (party programme ↗)“operations shall be carried out only after independent Swedish decisions.”
• close cooperation in alliance»Ett öppet och nära samarbete med NATO bör, givet nämnda kriterier, vara en naturlig del av svensk säkerhetspolitik.« (party programme ↗)“An open and close cooperation with NATO should, given the mentioned criteria, be a natural part of Swedish security 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 wants Sweden to be an active NATO member and security producer that can quickly contribute concretely, for example to NATO battle groups and incident readiness. Striking the provision that gives the government the ability to decide on its own about a limited armed operation to protect important national interests would weaken that ability to act. The plan therefore argues against the counter-proposal's demands.

• active NATO memberdecisive»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, shall be a security producer in our region and also get the most possible benefit from membership.”
• concrete NATO contributions»Sverige bör bidra konkret till skyddet av våra vänner i de baltiska länderna, exempelvis genom att överväga att skicka bidrag till Natos stridsgrupper eller att delta med vårt stridsflyg i Natos incidentberedskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should contribute concretely to the protection of our friends in the Baltic countries, for example by considering sending contributions to NATO battle groups or participating with our fighter jets in NATO's incident readiness.”
• coordinated security policy leadership»Inrätta ett nationellt säkerhetsråd på Statsrådsberedningen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Establish a national security council at the Office of the Prime Minister”
• full NATO membership»Vi ska vara en fullvärdig medlem i Nato« (party programme ↗)“We shall be a full member of NATO”

The plan's most central principle is that all public power emanates from the people, and it wants to strengthen popular sovereignty's independence and transparency and the possibility of political accountability. The counter-proposal wants to strike the part that gives the right to independently deploy armed forces without the elected body deciding, and invokes the risk of arbitrariness in a vaguely worded provision. This aligns with the plan's demand for clear popular influence, even though the plan at the same time affirms NATO membership.

• popular sovereigntydecisive»Att all offentlig makt i Sverige skall utgå från folket är den mest centrala av Sverigedemokraternas principer.« (party programme ↗)“That all public power in Sweden shall emanate from the people is the most central of Sweden Democrats' principles.”
• strengthened popular sovereignty»Bejaka och stärka det svenska folkstyrets oberoende« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Affirm and strengthen Swedish popular sovereignty's independence”
• accountability»Tjänstemannaansvar ska införas och åtgärder ska genomföras för att öka transparensen och möjligheten att utkräva politiskt ansvarsutkrävande.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Civil service accountability shall be introduced and measures taken to increase transparency and the possibility to hold politicians accountable.”
• NATO membership's value»Genom bilaterala- och internationella avtal, samarbeten och försvarsallianser såsom Nato, stärker vi vår säkerhet och värnar Sveriges försvars- och säkerhetspolitiska intressen.« (party programme ↗)“Through bilateral and international treaties, cooperation and defence alliances such as NATO, we strengthen our security and protect Sweden's defence and security policy interests.”

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.