The new strategy for sustainable peace puts a much stronger emphasis on the importance of integrated approaches at all levels than its predecessors. But, 18 years later, Sweden is still struggling to merge effectively the political and development cooperation dimensions on the ground. The 1999 Action Plan on Preventing Violent Conflict already highlighted the importance of joint efforts and ‘across-the-board’ coordination in Sweden’s peace work. It is not a surprise that Swedish commitments look good on paper, but what about the implementation? The key challenge will be the adoption of an integrated approach on the ground and coordination between the different actors involved in conflict-affected countries (the international development cooperation agency Sida, the agency for peace, security and development Folke Bernadotte Academy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs). Even Sweden needs to do homework on integrated peacebuilding Yet a recent survey undertaken in Germany, UK and the US shows that there may well be more of a public constituency that supports peacebuilding and mediation than initially thought. Received wisdom says that the Swedish approach is not easy to replicate in other countries. This country still has a strong value-based engagement, connected to its own political culture, and that it promotes in European and international fora. Sweden seems less prone to securitising peacebuilding than its European counterparts. Thus, in recent years Swedish policy frameworks and statements of foreign policy have increasingly acknowledged a number of global challenges that impact the road to peace and support to peacebuilding, both political and financial, remains high. As underlined by Isabella Lövin, the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister, “ in the long-term, it is unsustainable not to invest in peacebuilding.” Sweden is using its membership of the UN Security Council in 2017-2018 to encourage action to prevent conflict, sustain peace and support women, peace and security. It is no coincidence that Swedish policy frameworks resonate with the UN Secretary General’s priorities and, more broadly, with the UN’s ‘ sustaining peace’ agenda. However what is encouraging is that, in its budget proposal for 2018, the government plans a 48% increase in resources for this strategy. This is not groundbreaking since the priorities laid down in this strategy are very similar to the ones outlined in the 2014-2017 one, and some of the ideas recall commitments already made back in 1999. The strategy also promotes “a long-term approach in combination with speed, flexibility and calculated risk-taking”. It encompasses support at the global level, as well as support to nationally and locally owned and led peace processes. Sweden’s new strategy aims at “contributing to the prevention of armed conflict, effective conflict resolution, sustainable peacebuilding and state-building, increased human security in fragile and conflict-affected states, and empowerment of women as well as of youth, children and other excluded groups in these situations”. In recent years, it has scaled up its policy engagement in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, especially since the current Social Democrat-Green government took power in 2014, yet commitments transcend party lines.įor instance, since August 2017, Sweden has a new strategy on sustainable peace for 2017-2022, replacing the previous strategy for global action for human security for the years 2014 to 2017. Sweden has been involved in peace work for decades and has a strong international reputation in this field. A renewed impetus for peace in Swedish foreign and development policy Given the current concerns about the securitisation of peacebuilding and the militarisation of development aid, it is interesting to understand how Sweden’s commitment to supporting peacebuilding has evolved, to ask whether it is really at the top of the class and how many allies it really has to achieve its goals. It has approved policies that others have copied and it has pushed out an agenda for conflict prevention and peacebuilding across the UN and EU. Although the Plan was adopted back in 1999, Sweden has since been a consistent champion of peacebuilding and conflict prevention. A former Director at the United Nations Department of Political Affairs, Derek Boothby, described Sweden as the only country to have made conflict prevention a major pillar of its foreign policy by adopting an Action Plan on Preventing Violent Conflict.
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