Sweden's Counter-Terrorism Legislation and Negotiations with Turkey over NATO Membership: 2017-2023

Abstract

This article examines how the negotiations between Sweden and Turkey over the Sweden’s NATO membership influenced counter-terrorism legislation in Sweden.

Since the mid-2010s, Sweden has been developing legislation to strengthen counter-terrorism. As part of this legislative process, the idea of forbidding participation in terrorist organizations was considered as a way to strengthen counter-terrorism measures, but it was not implemented due to opposition from relevant domestic authorities, such as the Council on Legislation. Despite opposition from these authorities, the Swedish Government remained determined and continued to prepare to outlaw participation in terrorist organizations, including proposing a constitutional amendment.

In this context, Sweden applied for NATO membership in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Turkey opposed Sweden's NATO membership, arguing that Kurds in Sweden supported terrorist activities in Turkey. In negotiations with Turkey to remove their opposition, Sweden committed to tightening counter-terrorism legislation as part of a trilateral memorandum. This international obligation provided the Swedish Government with a strong justification to proceed with outlawing participation in terrorist organizations, framing it as necessary for NATO membership. By analyzing this case, this article examines the interaction between diplomatic negotiations and domestic legislation.