ABSTRACT
The last chapter briefly describes the occurrences in Swedish–Japanese relations right after Japan’s surrender in 1945, and then draws several conclusions from the entire study. Most importantly, it stresses that despite the many changes in Swedish–Japanese relations, the bilateral ties remained uninterrupted until the end of the war. From the Swedish perspective, the Long Second World War was akin to the Cold War—a conflict that raged around it and was dangerous but never actually turned “hot” for Stockholm. Although the Long Second World War impacted the international sphere heavily, and with that the way in which a neutral country could engage with its international partners, those wars of others never created an all-or-nothing moment for Sweden. Certainly, the warfare of the 1940s could also have engulfed its shores—it was a highly contingent moment. But the fact that it did not, opened possibilities for Sweden to act internationally in a way that was different from the possibilities of belligerents but consistent with its interests and historical developments. The narrative of this book shows how neutrality for Sweden was not only a security paradigm at home but also an effective instrument of its foreign policy—even as far away as in Japan.
