This study examines perceptions of threats and the actors in the Swedish Nato-debate. The particular sequence of debate which is investigated took place in Swedish media during the summer of 2015. The objects examined in this study are the actors involved in the debate and the perceptions of threats formed by these actors. Lack of knowledge regarding how debates are formed by actors, through their perceptions of threats, makes us unable to fully comprehend how and why these perceptions are formed. This lack of knowledge makes us unable to evaluate the debate beyond the claims of the participating actors. This study seeks to explain how perceptions of threats in the chosen debate-sequence were formed through filtration. Theory considering filtration of perceived threats states that the actors forming perceived threats does this through psychological-, bureaucratic-, political- and medial processes. Actors and their perceived threats can also exercise power. Whether the actors and their discourses have exercised power in the Swedish Nato-debate is examined through a relational- and productive power perspective. Results show that the participating actors examined, scientists, journalists and politicians, have all formed perceived threats through different forms of filtration, and all actors have in some way exercised relational or productive power in the debate.

The debate concerning if Sweden should move closer to NATO or even apply for membership is not entirely new. Due to Russia´s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine in the spring of 2014, and due to Russians violations of national territory, Swedish political actors have discussed the NATO membership energetically. The purpose of this essay is to map out the Swedish debate about NATO membership. By applying a Pro-Contra analysis this essay will also examine arguments from the swedish parties, members of parliament, debaters, researchers and former Secretary of State. Furthermore, the arguments will also be analyzed through theories of realism and liberalism. The debate for a NATO membership shows that arguments are based on a combination of both realism and liberalism, although there are more arguments influenced by liberalism. The arguments against a NATO membership are mainly characterized by realism rather than liberalism.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 set Europe in sorrow, distress, and emergency. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is something Sweden has refrained from joining due to the country’s neutral stance. However, despite Sweden's long-standing neutrality of over 200 years, it was abandoned within only weeks. The short timeframe of decision-making raised questions about the level of rationality in the decision of the Swedish NATO application. Scholars and researchers have through different methods and theories attempted to explain this unpredictable shift, but still, the process appears to lack a clearly defined rationale. This case study seeks to understand the decision-making process of the government in times of crisis, examining how the rationality of such decisions may have been compromised by analyzing secondary data. The aim is to address the research gap, concerning the rapid and framed process for Sweden to join NATO. Analyzing the decision through the lens of Bounded Rationality Theory, applying variables such as (1) time pressure, (2) cognition, and (3) access to information (Simon, 1947), the possibility arises to shred light on the factors contributing to Bounded Rationality in the Swedish NATO process. These aspects were all present in the Swedish NATO process. In combination with characteristics of a government in crisis (Boin, Hart, Stern & Sundelius, 2005), one can to a great extent understand the significant shift in stance towards NATO membership, given that governments tend to act differently when being subject to a crisis. It can be concluded that rationality was significantly bounded by limited access to information, to some extent by the ability to process information, and comprehensively by the constraints of time pressure. The Swedish NATO process, consisting of a government amid a crisis, was subject to and exemplifies Bounded Rationality in decision-making.