Foreign policy is a constant balancing between playing an active role on the international stage versus taking a more cautious stance. This study compares foreign policy development of three conservative parties during the Cold war, in three different nations with vastly different geopolitical importance. The parties compared in the study are the American Republican party, the British Conservative party and the Swedish Conservative party.

This study uses party platform and election manifestos from three separate election years as the main sources for comparison. The comparison covers the early 1950’s, middle 1960’s and finally the early 1980’s. The party programs are thereafter analyzed with help of Lane Crothers model to further classify the foreign policy development of each party during the given time period.

In conclusion, the study indicates a general move toward an increasingly active involvement on the international stage. The Republican party represents a foreign policy predominantlybased on military and diplomatic capacity to safeguard American foreign interest in relation to the Soviet Union. The British Conservative party as well as the Swedish Conservative party represent a foreign policy strategy with higher emphasis on international economic cooperation based on the liberal market economy.