At the same time as the discussion on a possible NATO application is ongoing in Sweden, there is also a discussion among NATO member countries about what the defense alliance's cornerstone, Article 5, would mean in practice. 

Article 5 means that an attack on a Member State is to be regarded as an attack on all.

- Then assessments are made that have to do with what is at stake, says Tomas Jonter.

- Is the United States prepared to sacrifice New York for Paris or Washington for Tallinn?

What are the security guarantees worth when the crisis is imminent?

Up to each state

Since Article 5 has never been tried, it is also not possible to say with certainty what the response would be.

Each state makes its own decision.

- It is not at all certain that the answer will be at once: Pang, we roll in our entire defense force.

You have to understand that, says Tomas Jonter.

- Article 5 does not automatically lead, let alone say, that Russia is rolling into Lithuania, that the day after, the month after, there are Italian, Spanish, and Danish troops on Lithuanian territory.

That's not how it looks.

"Insurance tour"

Recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Baltic states on what was called in the international press "Baltic insurance tour" to convince the countries that NATO would come to their defense, in the event of a Russian attack.

The governments of the Baltic countries called for, among other things, permanent troops.

No such promises have yet come from the United States.

If Sweden were to join NATO, what do we know about what help Sweden would receive from NATO member countries and then mainly the United States?

- The brutal answer is that we can never really know, fully, says Jonter.

Sweden's role

What Sweden's role in the defense alliance would be is still unclear.

But according to Mike Winnerstig, head of the unit for security policy at FOI, the entire Swedish defense would probably be integrated into NATO.

- The Swedish ability to act outside Sweden's borders, in support of someone else, is greatest in terms of the air force.

It is partly good in terms of the navy, the submarine weapon then.

- As for the army, it is very small at present.

There we then have plans to make it bigger and the idea is, as far as I understand, that one of the brigades that is now being produced will be able to be deployed in Finland.

Or at least have the task of almost immediately in the event of an attack go in and support the Finnish army, says Mike Winnerstig.