The legal framework for arms exports

The plan affirms that Swedish arms exports should be phased out and that Sweden should be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarisation. The counter-proposal instead wants to investigate how the regulations can be adapted so that exports to states in armed conflict are possible and requirements for sub-suppliers are eased. This runs directly counter to the plan's commitment to disarmament and international law taking precedence.

• phase out arms exportsdecisive»vapenexport ska avvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“arms exports should be phased out.”
• against militarisation»Vänsterpartiet anser att Sverige ska vara en röst för fred och rättvisa, inte för ökad militarisering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party believes that Sweden should be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarisation.”
• disarmament»Vänsterpartiet arbetar för militäralliansernas upplösning« (party programme ↗)“The Left Party works for the dissolution of military alliances”
• international law first»Folkrätten, den internationella rättsliga praxis som reglerar förhållandet mellan stater, måste försvaras och fördjupas.« (party programme ↗)“International law, the international legal practice that regulates relations between states, must be defended and deepened.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme designates military disarmament as a fundamental task and emphasizes the fight against illegal arms trafficking, and the election manifesto grounds foreign policy in international law and disarmament. An investigation intended to allow exports to states in armed conflict and relax demands on subcontractors moves in the opposite direction from these commitments. The plan's support for Ukraine pulls the other way, which makes the assessment uncertain.

• disarmament as a taskdecisive»Militär nedrustning är en fundamental uppgift för det internationella samarbetet.« (party programme ↗)“Military disarmament is a fundamental task for international cooperation.”
• control of arms trade»Det gör också kampen mot den illegala vapenhandeln.« (party programme ↗)“So does the fight against illegal arms trafficking.”
• international law and disarmament»Vi har en lång historia av att stå upp för folkrätten, solidaritet, nedrustning, demokrati och jämställdhet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We have a long history of standing up for international law, solidarity, disarmament, democracy and equality.”
• support for Ukraine»Sverige måste i alla lägen stå upp för Ukraina och mot det ryska invasionskriget.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden must stand up for Ukraine and against the Russian invasion at all times.”

The party programme states that export of war materiel to dictatorships, countries in armed conflict or where serious human rights violations occur shall be abolished, and the goal is a phased-out arms export. The counter-proposal instead wants to ease regulations to enable export to states in armed conflict. The plan thus speaks directly against the counter-proposal's demand.

• no export to conflict countriesdecisive»befinner sig i väpnad konflikt eller där grova och« (party programme ↗)“finds itself in armed conflict or where serious and”
• no export to dictatorships»och annan krigsmateriel till diktaturer, länder som« (party programme ↗)“and other war materiel to dictatorships, countries which”
• phased-out arms export»Miljöpartiet de grönas mål är därför en avvecklad« (party programme ↗)“The Green Party's goal is therefore a phased-out”
• restrictive arms export»inte att Sverige ska anpassa sin utrikespolitik efter auktoritära staters krav för kunna att bli medlem i Nato och Sverige ska inte börja sälja vapen till Turkiet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“not that Sweden should adapt its foreign policy to authoritarian states' demands in order to become a member of NATO and Sweden should not start selling weapons to Turkey.”

The plan's core commitment is that the defense shall be equipped quickly and powerfully and that Ukraine's defense of its freedom shows that despots can be stopped. A regulatory framework adapted to the deteriorated security situation and allowing export to a state in armed conflict follows from that commitment. The plan simultaneously requires ethical consideration in trade, which limits but does not abrogate the conclusion.

• equip the defense and join NATOdecisive»Centerpartiet vill rusta försvaret, stärka Sveriges civila beredskap och fullfölja inträdet i Nato.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Centre Party wants to equip the defense, strengthen Sweden's civil preparedness and complete entry into NATO.”
• support for Ukraine's defense»Ukrainas heroiska försvar av sitt lands frihet och överlevnad har visat att det går att stå upp mot despoter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Ukraine's heroic defense of its country's freedom and survival has shown that it is possible to stand up to despots.”
• rapid defense rearming»Sverige ska försvaras. Vi vill rusta det militära försvaret snabbt, kraftfullt och långsiktigt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall be defended. We want to equip the military defense quickly, powerfully and long-term.”
• ethical considerations in trade»Hänsyn måste tas till etiska och miljömässiga perspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Consideration must be given to ethical and environmental perspectives.”

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 party explicitly fights for Sweden to be able to deliver weapons to Ukraine – a state in armed conflict – and makes the guarantee of increased military support a central foreign policy commitment. Adapting the export regulation framework to the deteriorated security policy situation thus follows from the plan's own line. The plan's limit is that weapons must not be exported to dictatorships, which qualifies but does not prevent such adaptation.

• weapons deliveries to Ukrainedecisive»När dagens regering samarbetar med partier som ännu säger nej till Nato och har försökt stoppa Sveriges vapenleveranser till Ukraina står vi för alternativet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“When today's government cooperates with parties that still say no to NATO and have tried to stop Sweden's weapons deliveries to Ukraine we stand for the alternative.”
• increased military support»En ny regering ska vara garanten för att Ukraina ges ökat ekonomiskt, politiskt och militärt stöd.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“A new government must be the guarantor that Ukraine is given increased economic, political and military support.”
• strengthened defense capacity»Sverige behöver ett betydligt starkare militärt försvar än i dag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs a considerably stronger military defense than today.”
• no export to dictatorships»Sverige ska inte exportera vapen till diktaturer.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden must not export weapons to dictatorships.”

Worldstate weighed in: Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and deteriorated security situation — Actualizes the plan's requirement for deliveries to a state in armed conflict

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 limits weapon exports to democratic states under careful control and explicitly states that exports should not go to offensively warring countries or to states with systematic human rights violations. An investigation whose purpose is to enable exports to states in armed conflict and ease requirements goes against this. The need for a domestic defence industry speaks partly in the other direction but weighs less.

• restrictive weapon exportsdecisive»Export ska ej gå till offensivt krigförande länder« (party programme ↗)“Exports shall not go to offensively warring countries”
• human-rights-conditioned exports»eller till stater där det förekommer systematiska kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“or to states where systematic human rights violations occur.”
• domestic defence industry»en inhemsk försvarsindustri.« (party programme ↗)“a domestic defence industry.”
• criteria for military force»Utifrån ett kristdemokratiskt synsätt kan dock vapenmakt brukas under iakttagande av följande kriterier,« (party programme ↗)“From a Christian democratic perspective, however, military force can be used under observation of the following criteria,”

The plan establishes that Sweden should whole-heartedly stand up for Ukraine with continued weapons supplies, that is, export to a state in armed conflict, and that Swedish defense industry expertise should come to all of NATO. The counter-proposal's demands for a framework adapted to the deteriorated security situation and easier requirements for subcontractors follow from the same line, reinforced by the plan's general commitment to less bureaucracy. The plan therefore supports the demand in substance.

• weapons supplies to Ukrainedecisive»Sverige ska helhjärtat stå upp för Ukraina, även med fortsatta vapenleveranser.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall whole-heartedly stand up for Ukraine, including with continued weapons supplies.”
• defense industry to NATO»Verka för att Sveriges teknologiska kunnande och kompetenta försvarsindustri kommer hela Nato till del« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for Swedish technological expertise and competent defense industry to serve all of NATO”
• strengthened materiel supply(2022 manifesto)
• eased demands on companies»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one-third of companies' administrative costs and one-third of bureaucracy”

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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 establishes that Swedish defence industry shall be strengthened and that Sweden shall be armed in the face of a new security-political situation in the near region, with reference to the fact that the security situation has rapidly deteriorated. The plan also wants to improve Sweden's position in international trade. Reviewing the war materiel rules so that it responds to the deteriorated security situation and facilitates subcontractors thus follows the plan's direction.

• strengthened Swedish defence industrydecisive»Svensk försvarsindustri ska också stärkas genom att fortsatt satsa på inhemsk försvarsteknologi och att tydligare värdera det strategiska intresset av svenska leverantörer vid inköp av försvarsmateriel.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish defence industry shall also be strengthened by continuing to invest in domestic defence technology and by more clearly valuing the strategic interest of Swedish suppliers in purchases of defence materiel.”
• new security-political situation»Rusta Sverige inför en ny säkerhetspolitisk situation i vårt närområde« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Arm Sweden for a new security-political situation in our near region”
• deteriorated security situation»Säkerhetsläget i omvärlden och närområdet har snabbt förvärrats under det gångna decenniet och långsiktig målmedvetenhet krävs för att säkerställa ett trovärdigt, modernt och uthålligt försvar som både är krigsavhållande och kan verka över tid.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The security situation in the world and in our near region has rapidly deteriorated during the past decade and long-term purposefulness is required to ensure a credible, modern and sustainable defence that both deters war and can act over time.”
• strengthened Swedish export»Förbättra Sveriges ställning på den internationella marknaden och i handel« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Improve Sweden's position on the international market and in trade”