In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Pål Jonson discuss European security concerns, NATO, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Sweden’s defense technology and innovation, Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
Insights from Sweden’s minister for defense, Pål Jonson, shed light on Nordic, Baltic, and European security and the importance of the transatlantic relationship. Reflecting on Sweden as a longtime US partner and new NATO ally, Minister Jonson addresses the country’s key security concerns and priorities, his assessment on the war in Ukraine, Sweden’s strong defense industry, the importance of technological innovation, and lessons around supply-chain resilience, as well as the significance of Sweden’s bilateral relationship with the US.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Pål Jonson has been Sweden’s minister for defense since 2022. A leader in Sweden’s Moderate Party, he held multiple elected positions in local government and was elected to Sweden’s parliament, the Riksdag, in 2016, where he was chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence from 2020 to 2022. Prior to joining the Riksdag, Jonson was secretary-general of the Swedish Atlantic Council from 2014 to 2016. He holds a PhD in war studies from King’s College London.
H.R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He was the 25th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.
