ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Swedish approaches to the Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Security and Defence Policy from a fusion perspective. It argues that Sweden maintained a deep-seated attachment to concepts of neutrality, non-alignment and internationalism. Political fusion encompasses the assumption that the Swedish elite prefer a 'third way' for European integration. In this policy field, this could mean Swedish acceptance of supranational structures that deliver more effective foreign policy cooperation. Compound fusion would suggest that the Swedish elite would become committed players in the Union's foreign policy networks. The performance-related mentality also influences the strategy used by the Swedish government to sell the value of its non-alignment to its European and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation counterparts. The Swedish view of European crisis management can also be equated with compound fusion. The Swedes have certainly accepted the merits of European crisis management.
