Sweden is increasingly becoming not so nice, and some argue it is moving towards being too subservient to intolerance. The recent burning of the sacred Muslim scripture of the Quran was not only permitted to take place in front of a mosque, but the Swedish government has confirmed that such an offensive act disrespecting a great religion is legal. Other issues it is facing are also alarming as the Scandinavian country has been well-known for decades as an independent, peace-loving, fair-minded country in “neon lights”, worldwide.
For example, under Prime Minister Olaf Palme, Sweden was once the darling of the UN and the global peace crowd, and even claimed its son, Dag Hammarskjöld, as the UN Secretary General from 1953 to 1961. Partly for its neutral position and forward peace vision, it gained more trust with the global South and across a full spectrum of countries, despite its relatively small population and GNP.
Now, however, letting this act of the burning of the Quran to go unpunished has infuriated Turkey along with what Ankara accuses Stockholm of harbouring Kurdish separatist terrorists. All of this may jeopardize Sweden’s application to NATO, not an act of peace in itself, by motivating Turkey to veto its NATO entrance.
Yet, Sweden is also known for Raoul Wallenberg who dedicated his life to saving Jews during World War II, using parts of the Wallenberg family fortune. However, it is the same oligarchical family involved in the military-industrial complex such as through its giant Electrolux. Of course, Sweden is highly rated in the UN Human Development Index and for being low on corruption.
So, on balance, should Sweden be rated these days as an exemplary model for peace, and integrity of geopolitical independence? Should Sweden be seen as being in “capture” of special “dark” interests compared to its much better past?
In 2021, the Sweden-based famed V-Dem Institute of democracy report stated, “India (is) as autocratic as Pakistan.” Is this kind of comment expected from a so-called “promoter of peace” like Sweden? Doesn’t this sound more like the unbalanced nonsense of liberal interventionists like George Soros?
Rather, Sweden, earlier a top peace leader, is today helping to expand a peace vacuum. Consequently, there is even more room and a role for India with its growing respect as the number one major, trusted facilitator of peace and inclusiveness, as the “full” West and its allies align, or come closer, with non-neutral NATO—a massively armed alliance that has its arsenal handprint on the horrible war in Ukraine.
Yet, some more historical context is also needed of three or four past decades to get to better understand present trends. Unfortunately, around the 1980s, some very serious dark creep started entering Swedish politics and ideology, heretofore, considered very peaceful, domestically; globally neutral and reaching out, including to immigrants. A major sign was the assassination of Olaf Palme, Swedish Prime Minister at the time. Interestingly, the security services and law enforcement for the last 3O years plus, have really never come up with a decisive judgment as to who did it. Was that incompetency? Or was it in reality something evil like out of a bestseller thriller by Stieg Larsson, or “Operation Golden Bear”, my book that outlined some of the skulduggery of the security services. Palme at the time of his murder in 1986 was getting on the nerves of let us say those much more interested in weapons than global disarmament he pushed vigorously. And he was getting along more with Russia and many in a growing peace movement, disdained by various reactionary forces.
Then, also on disarmament there was Swede, Hans Blix, within a UN arms inspection commission who called out the George Bush (Jr ) White House dark “hoax” that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, including atomic weapons. A hoax that still persisted in Washington that led to the US invading Iraq and the resulting misery of many deaths and subsequent fractures in that country, all as weapon sales related to the conflict heightened.
Let us face it, invasions and certain instability especially cause more than an uptick in profits of the weapons industry. Famous author Kenneth Eade said the arms industry is the most profitable one on earth. Henry Ford, the founder of the company with his name, said, “Show me who makes a profit from war, and I’ll show you how to stop the war.” While India is a more holistic society not prone to pushing war and war profit, it should be aware of certain elements in the foreign megalith weapons industry that drive some very negative geopolitical trends impacting its economy and possibly, worrying interventionist events. That Blix came up against? Or Palme? It is one with hooks everywhere including with the major Swedish defence complex—and parts of complex that has swayed the European security environment to become degraded further, by supporting the provocation and maintenance of war in Ukraine. And to make “former” leaders of peace like Sweden and Finland worry to want to join an offensive alliance, NATO. Over the years, the Swedish defense conglomerate has become more politically important and very useful to Washington for Sweden’s special marine capabilities, especially with submersibles in the Baltic Seas, neighboring Russia. Another Swedish degradation of its neutrality appears to be the whole episode out of the blue of Sweden charging the activist, Julian Assange, with rape crimes while he was holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London fighting off ridiculous arrest warrants for spying on the US and being a threat to US national security, while simply doing uncomfortable investigative journalism. Then, those charges were dropped after he was arrested and put into solitary confinement in a British prison. What was all that about? How come Sweden just no longer cared to follow through on cases of two allegedly raped women. Cases dropped by the Swedish government priding itself as being just, progressive and a leader on feminism? Or maybe less so these days?
Something is increasingly rotten in Sweden, never mind Denmark, also highly loyal to Washington, as all Nordics are now. It all further adds up, indeed that India’s role as a balanced peacemaker and facilitator of global inclusiveness and justice is more important than ever before. This is also as Russia decimates Ukraine, terribly impacting not only humanity, but food costs of the Indian poor.
If the likes of Sweden have surrendered too much to certain barbaric forces behind war and hegemony, it provides a further call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stand up for peace and inclusiveness in the G20 India chairs and beyond. India under his leadership and the highly able External Affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, fortunately have the moral standing not to let any highly negative elements of war machines guide them, or unseemly and coincidentally by the Opposition obsequious to foreign, pro-war interests.
Peter Dash is an educator who has researched peace and world order at Harvard.
