Prepared Together? NATO–EU Cooperation and Sweden’s Societal Security

Sweden’s societal security increasingly depends on effective cooperation between the European Union and NATO. Hybrid threats, cyber-attacks, disinformation, pandemics, and climate-related disasters all require coordinated responses that cut across institutional and national boundaries.

This three-year research project, funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR), examines how NATO and the EU cooperate in areas central to Sweden’s preparedness: critical infrastructure protection, hybrid threats, and emergency response. The project also investigates whether growing geopolitical tensions — including strains in transatlantic relations — influence cooperation between the two organisations.

Drawing on alliance theory, inter-organisational theory, and practice theory, the project studies cooperation at the operational level. Through document analysis, elite interviews, and participant observation, we analyse NATO–EU collaboration along three dimensions:

 - Strategic alignment – shared priorities and threat perceptions
 - Structural compatibility – institutional and procedural fit
 - Cultural coherence – trust, norms, and working practices

The project contributes to academic debates on inter-organisational cooperation while generating policy-relevant insights into Sweden’s societal resilience.