Starcast
Join the waitlist
Sweden’s Secret Army
Coming soon to iPhone. Already have it? “Listen in Starcast” takes you straight there.
On this episode
About this episode
Sweden joined NATO in 2024. What took them so long? Historian Johan Wennström, author of The Stay Behinds: Sweden’s Cold War Guardians, joins Aaron MacLean to uncover how Sweden secretly collaborated with NATO for decades while remaining publicly neutral for fear the Soviet Union would invade Finland if they did. With Russia threatening Europe again, Wennström discusses the history of Sweden’s balancing act, how it built an army of sleeper cells, and whether NATO membership risks giving countries a false sense of security. 03:13 The Soviet Threat 08:00 Was Sweden Neutral? 15:52 Sweden in World War II 20:10 Sweden’s Military Might 20:50 Building the Resistance 25:11 Legalizing a Secret Army…