After the Cold War, Sweden transformed into a global arms exporter, establishing international defense collaborations with various partners worldwide. The regulations governing Sweden's arms exports are rooted in national values of peace, equality, and democracy, along with specific guidelines for defense exports. Despite the importance of these values, Sweden has continued to export weapons to non-democratic countries, contradicting its professed principles.

To limit the arms exports to non-democratic countries, a democracy criterion was implemented in Sweden 2018. However, despite this measure, weapons have continued to be exported to countries that are, according to the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society (among other sources), non-democratic. This study applies institutional theory to analyze the motivations of various actors behind the ongoing arms exports despite the introduction of the democracy criterion. It is observed that the criterion proves susceptible to circumvention due to its weak formulation, allowing for loopholes and freedom of interpretation.

Through a qualitative content analysis of primary sources, the study delves into understanding how Sweden motivates the continued arms exports to non-democratic countries and why the democracy criterion since 2018 has not been complied with. The study's findings indicate that the democracy criterion has not limited the arms exports to non-democratic countries, such as India and Pakistan. The study concludes that Sweden's reluctance to terminate existing collaborations, reflects a strategic decision to prioritize defense and security interests over professed values. Despite the democracy criterion introduced in 2018, Sweden appears to work against their own professed values by continuing arms exports to non-democratic countries.