78
votes
Accepted
We will never surrender! Why would a country have this policy?
We will never surrender! has a pretty famous history.
The obvious advantage of such a policy is that it makes invasion less likely. Let's assume that Russia invades Sweden. A natural step would ...
- 90.3k
49
votes
Accepted
What are the de facto advantages of Sweden and Finland joining NATO?
There is a difference between providing arms and going to war. You are correct that under the current status quo, if Russia seriously threatened Sweden or Finland, NATO nations would unquestionably ...
- 11.2k
49
votes
Why does Sweden support Kurdish separatists in Turkey?
There is a significant Kurdish minority in Sweden, about 100,000 people. In the 1960s Sweden was suffering a labour shortage and had an open immigration policy, which encouraged numbers of Near and ...
- 124k
43
votes
Accepted
Why did Sweden issue the 'if crisis or war comes' pamphlet?
As is noted in a comment on that question, the pamphlet is an updated version of "If the war comes", a similar pamphlet that was released from 1943 to 1991. With the end of the cold war it was for the ...
- 898
41
votes
We will never surrender! Why would a country have this policy?
Ever heard of the term, "price of occupation"?
Yugoslavia had a policy that no one, not even Marshal and president for life Josip Broz Tito, could declare surrender in the event of an invasion. It ...
- 411
41
votes
Accepted
What political and social factors underlie Sweden's controversial response to COVID-19?
The reason for Sweden's rather hands-off approach compared to other European countries was summed up rather well by lead epidemiologist of the Public Health Agency of Sweden, Anders Tegnell, who said ...
CDJB♦
- 109k
36
votes
Accepted
What are Turkey's objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO?
According to Turkey's President Erdoğan, they will not immediately approve the enlargement unless Turkey's own security concerns are considered.
In general, Erdoğan believes that they have not ...
- 10.9k
34
votes
We will never surrender! Why would a country have this policy?
Public Opinion/Morale.
The nice thing about this kind of declarations is that they are not binding. Today Swedish politicians can say "Never Surrender!" and tomorrow surrender after the ...
- 33k
32
votes
Accepted
Why does seemingly progressive Sweden strongly disapprove of prostitution?
There are of course general concerns regarding prostitution, like trafficking and bad social implications, different countries has reached different conclusions here.
The thing with Sweden is that we ...
- 434
25
votes
Why does seemingly progressive Sweden strongly disapprove of prostitution?
The Wikipedia article Feminist views on prostitution summarizes the position of those who are opposed to prostitution as follows:
Anti-prostitution feminists hold that prostitution is a form of ...
- 5,772
24
votes
What if no party crosses the electoral threshold in a parliamentary election?
In czech-republic, parliamentary elections have a 5% threshold for political parties (and 8-11% for coalitions of parties). The election law 247/1995, article 49 states that if less than two parties/...
- 588
21
votes
Accepted
Is signing security pacts with other countries within the UK government powers?
Yes - the UK Government may negotiate and sign international security treaties without consulting Parliament as part of its executive power.
However, under section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and ...
CDJB♦
- 109k
20
votes
Accepted
To what extent do Scandinavian countries support the Kurds (PKK and YPG)?
Several points come together.
The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group without their own nation-state. By the standards which "the West" applied during the breakup of Austria-Hungary or the ...
- 116k
20
votes
Slovakia has been the first state to have not affirmed joining NATO of Sweden and Finland with magnitudinal majority — why?
There are various unclear parts in your Q, but if it is why Slovakia's parliament (probably) voted less enthusiastically on the latest NATO expansion is that the population is nearly as pro-Russia as ...
19
votes
We will never surrender! Why would a country have this policy?
False information
Speaking as the target audience for this pamphlet, I think that the answers so far are much too complicated, almost moving into conspiracy theory territory, and I will offer a more ...
- 336
19
votes
What are the de facto advantages of Sweden and Finland joining NATO?
It's probably more a political gain in clarity than a straight out military gain.
First, let's start out that neither Finland nor Sweden are like Ukraine.
They are long time Western-aligned, rather ...
- 92.8k
19
votes
History or events likely triggering or being used by Koran-burning anti-Muslim groups in Denmark and Sweden?
The applications to the police for permits for demonstrations are public, and the major Swedish newspaper DN managed to find all 10 individuals who have requested a permit for burning religious texts.(...
- 2,601
17
votes
Why does Sweden support Kurdish separatists in Turkey?
I believe that Sweden supports Kurdish separatism because that's the proper thing to do for any humanitarian democracy.
In my perception, other European countries do just the same as Sweden. Turkey ...
- 287
16
votes
Accepted
Why does Assange fear Sweden will extradite him to the USA?
The question presupposes that Assange fears extradition. There's an alternative narrative that is more compatible with the facts at hand.
Assange's role in politics is not a role of power, but of ...
- 5,494
16
votes
What political and social factors underlie Sweden's controversial response to COVID-19?
This Forbes article sheds some light upon the Sweden's strange response to COVID-19:
There seems to be no agreed action plan:
The crux of the argument put forth by Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s Chief ...
- 53.5k
16
votes
Accepted
Why did Denmark, Sweden, and Germany reject a joint investigation offered by Russia?
There is a debate strategy known as 'bullshitting.'
Bullshitting relies on the fact that stating a falsehood or half-truth takes considerably less time and energy than refuting that falsehood. So in a ...
- 116k
15
votes
Why did Sweden issue the 'if crisis or war comes' pamphlet?
@Diasiare's answer is good, but I would like to complete it with some cultural background.
Sweden has been at peace for more than 200 years. There is little memory left of what a crisis situation ...
- 251
15
votes
How is judicial independence maintained under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty / supremacy?
I will reference the United Kingdom in my answer, which uses the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.
In the United Kingdom, the role of the judiciary is not to determine whether a law is valid. ...
- 28k
15
votes
Accepted
What are the exact transgression(s) that Norway is complaining about regarding Sweden's off-course rocket's recovery?
Apparently the Swedish informed the local authorities in Norway, in the area in question, and perhaps even the Norwegian armed forces directly, but somehow not the national government, in particular ...
14
votes
We will never surrender! Why would a country have this policy?
1) Pre-empt false information
Russian use of disinformation
The Russian government is the most probable aggressor that Sweden may be considering at the moment, and the Russians have spread ...
- 365
13
votes
What are Turkey's objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO?
Relations between the countries don't explain the hard stance Erdogan is taking. For example, Sweden and Turkey have many connections: https://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-between-turkey-and-sweden.en.mfa ...
- 6,523
13
votes
What if no party crosses the electoral threshold in a parliamentary election?
In germany, there are at least twice as many seats as there are polling districts. Voters cast two votes:
Whoever gets the most Erststimme votes in a district is elected.
The remaining seats are ...
- 116k
13
votes
History or events likely triggering or being used by Koran-burning anti-Muslim groups in Denmark and Sweden?
Frame challenge: The question asks for specific history or events to have triggered Quran burnings. I don't think any particular events are needed or even related to the recent burnings.
What is ...
- 9,317
12
votes
What is Sweden's historical violent crime rate vs. immigration rate?
The issue is far more complex than a simple historical rate comparison. You can find a summary of several reports here, and can access the reports by clicking the relevant links.
In short, most crimes ...
- 385
12
votes
What are the de facto advantages of Sweden and Finland joining NATO?
That means that NATO (+ others interested to help) can effectively help a country resist a Russian invasion regardless of NATO membership.
It's not the same. The help that Ukraine received was rather ...
- 9,832
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