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Årsbok 2024 : Årsbok inom ramen för militära programutbildningen
No full textInledning I Årsbok 2024 kan vi, lite schematiskt, dela in uppsatserna i två kategorier – de som studerar avskräckning och de som studerar Gemensamma Operationer/Krig/NATO:s artikel 5. Det stora konfliktområdet mellan dessa två –inklusive hybrid krigföring – berörs dock i liten utsträckning. NATO:s Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) utvecklas snabbt och kan vara en del av svaret på hur vi i väst ska möta de hybrida hoten. På Försvarshögskolan har vi inlett en utbildningssatsning inom detta område. Kurserna Operationskonst –Krigföringskoncept i framtidens operationsmiljö, Grundkurs Informationsmiljön och Dynamiska operationer 2: Innovation och förmågeutveckling för specialoperationerär tre viktiga kurser för att kunna öka förståelsen för MDO och hur Sverige ska kunna bidra till utvecklingen av konceptet. Totalt har vi tagit fram 10 av 11 essäer inom de tre nämnde kursen. I ett försök att stimulera framtida forskning om MDO har jag samlat några tankar om militärteori, hybrid krigföring, tid/rum och möjligt sammanhang. Har vi i västvärlden översett utvecklingen av de hybrida hoten från Ryssland och Kina(under)? Det korta svaret kan tyvärr vara JA, särskilt på den politiska sidan inom EU och NATO. Vi har inte tagit de hybrida hoten från Ryssland och Kina nog på allvar och svaret kan vara en utveckling av MDO i en tydligare totalförsvarsram än där vi är idag. Industrins betydelse har kommit tydlig fram på sistone, men statens (demokratiernas) skydd mot ryske New Generation Warfare (NGW) och kinesiska Unrestricted Warfare/Target Centric Warfare (TCW) är enligt min uppfattning inte tillräckligt ifrågasatt
Från värnplikt till yrkesofficer : Socialiseringens betydelse för motivation i militär rekrytering
No full textThis study addresses the challenge faced by military organizations in ensuring long-term sustainable personnel supply and examines how socialization influences motivation and career choices, with a focus on the specialist officer role within the Swedish Army. Drawing on Battistelli’s (1997) motivational theory and Jones’s (1986) model of socialization tactics, a qualitative analysis based on semi-structured interviews was conducted. A deductive thematic analysis explored how socialization tactics interact with motivational factors and affect continued engagement. The results show that socialization shapes which motivational drivers are reinforced over time. The study contributes to existing literature by clarifying the link between socialization tactics and motivational shifts, offering a conceptual basis for designing strategies that support long-term commitment in military contexts
Taktisk genomförandeledning med stöd av digitala nätverk : En kvalitativ studie om digitaliseringens effekter för svenska arméförband
No full textThis study explores how digital networks impact military command at the lower tactical level of the Swedish Army. Specifically, it investigates how digitalization affects decision-making and mission-type orders through 21 interviews and field studies conducted during a brigade combat exercise. Results indicate that digital networks enhance shared situational awareness, enable rapid communication, and reduce delays in information flows, thereby promoting rapid and dynamic decision making. Simultaneously, challenges arise from the accelerated flow of information and decreased personal interaction which can hinder decision making and collaboration. Furthermore, the study illustrates that digital networks strengthen mission-type orders by fostering initiative and freedom of action, provided they are used within an established method and command culture. This study furthers the current war science research of how digitalization affects tactical command and can aid the Swedish Army’s digital transformation
Högre taktisk ledning i dagens operationsmiljö
No full textReports of yet another command post being neutralized raise the question of the command post’s relevance in today’s operational environment. Does the commander and the command post still have a place on the transparent battlefield? In order to contribute to an understanding of how the Swedish command system may need to evolve at the higher tactical level, this thesis uses an interview-based study to explore how Swedish officers perceive the impact of the modern operational environment on command requirements. The results indicate that decision-making has become more complex. Swedish officers believe that decisions now affect multiple domains and timeframes simultaneously. The thesis shows that perceptions of the commander’s role are shifting. This calls for a flexible command system. The thesis also reveals that Swedish officers, even within the command post paradigm, tend to prioritize survivability over efficiency. And this marks a shift and changes the nature of command requirements.
Ledarutmaningar, självledarskap och psykologisk resiliens under en långvarig kris : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om upplevelser angående utmaningar hos chefer under covid-19
No full textSyftet med denna studie var att identifiera och undersöka hur covid-19-krisen påverkade ledares självledarskap och psykologiska resiliens. Studien fokuserar på tre frågeställningar: (1) vilka utmaningar mötte ledare i samband med covid-19, (2) hur påverkade dessa utmaningar ledarnas självledarskap och psykologiska resiliens samt (3) vilka strategier och resurser nyttjade ledare för att upprätthålla sitt självledarskap och psykologiska resiliens under krisen. Genom en abduktiv ansats och semistrukturerade intervjuer har upplevelser från åtta ledare inom offentlig sektor analyserats genom tematisk analys. Resultatet belyser att ledare ställdes inför omfattande utmaningar och osäkerhet under hanteringen av covid-19, som bristande resurser och ensamhet vid beslutsfattande. Detta ledde till olika upplevelser gällande hur det påverkade ledarna och varierande från fysisk trötthet till bristande självomsorg, vilket i viss utsträckning påverkade ledarnas möjligheter till att nyttja självledarskap samt deras psykologiska resiliens. Genom nyttjande av olika strategier inom självledarskap, exempelvis beteendefokuserade strategier och psykologisk resiliens, i form av externa resurser, försökte ledarna att hantera de upplevda utmaningar och konsekvenser.
Konventionella ubåtars roller i sjökrigföring i trånga hav : En teorikonsumerande studie om ubåtars roller i upprättande och bestridande av sjökontroll i andra världskrigets sjökrigföring i Östersjön
No full textThe ability for a coastal state to freely use the sea is the lifeblood of international trade, both today and historically. Coastal states that wish to use the sea both in peacetime and wartime thus have to be able to assert a degree of control over relevant parts of the sea. This qualitative theory-consuming case study examines the roles in establishing and denying sea control conventional submarines had in the Baltic Sea during the Second World War through Milan Vego’s theories on sea control and sea denial. In earlier research there is a view of conventional submarines as ships mainly suited for sea denial, while other research suggests the roles of conventional submarines in naval warfare could be different in what Vego calls narrow seas compared to open oceans. The roles of submarines in the naval warfare during the Second World War in the Baltic Sea, as a case of a narrow sea, is thus examined in this study. This study uses a design of qualitative theory-consuming case study to examine how and to what purpose submarines were used for sea control and sea denial through analysing historical books and documents on that theatre of warfare. By examining the case of the Baltic Sea during the Second World War, this study has showed that conventional submarines in the Baltic Sea during the Second World War had roles relating to both sea control and sea denial, providing nuance to earlier research and a historical example of what roles in establishing and denying sea control conventional submarines have had in a narrow sea
Recruiting the Swedish Intelligence Professional
No full textThis chapter explores recent transformations of the practices and professionals of the Swedish signal intelligence service, FRA – an agency that has been in a process of significant expansion in recent years. It does so by analysing an archive of job advertisements collected between 2022 and 2023, pertaining to the agency’s “signals intelligence”, “technology”, and “cyber activities” sections. Viewing FRA as an emerging “multi-professional organization” harbouring an increasingly diverse set of professional roles, the chapter finds that the agency not only targets intelligence analysts in its recent recruitments but also seeks to mobilize the new generation of Swedish “tech talents” e.g. programming, computer engineering, data science, systems development, and IT. This indicates that FRA’s professional disposition has grown distinctly “plural” in how its main expertise is focused not simply on threat analysis, but also increasingly on developing digital means of data extraction and collection. Its core operation seems driven just as much by technocratic logics as it is by “national security”. As such, FRA has come to see, think, and act increasingly like a “big tech” firm
Användningen av drönare och förmågan för operationer på djupet : En beskrivande studie om användningen av drönare inom operationer på djupet i Ukraina
No full textThis study examines how drones in the Russian-Ukraine war has been utilized within the theoretical framework of Deep Operations by Vladimir Triandafillov. The study is conducted through the method qualitative text research, and the purpose is to analyse how drone-systems have been generally used to conduct deep operations on a tactical and operational level. The empirical material consists of articles and reports spanning from 2022 until 2025. The Deep Operations theory by Vladimir Triandafillov has been chosen as the theoretical framework upon which the analysis will be conducted. Results of the study indicate that drone usage have changed somewhat during the years. The results also show that the systems have been quantitatively integrated on a brigade scale to a greater extent than before. This have allowed for greater ISR capabilities among artillery units which resulted in indirect fire being more accurate at further distances. Due to frontlines being fortified with anti-air capabilities drone-strike operations within the opponent’s operational area have been conducted since the beginning of the war where logistical nodes and reserves are targeted. The drones provide the means in precision and distance that are required to conduct deep strikes within hostile territory. Although the study could not generalize drone usage, it has created a better understanding of how drones are used as a means to conduct deep operations.
Is it will to defend we have? Interpretations of the concept ”will to defend” among civil society actors
No full textDenna uppsats undersöker civilsamhällesengagerades tolkning av begreppet försvarsvilja. I svensk samhällsdebatt och forskning kan tolkningen av begreppet uppdelas i tre huvudkategorier: stöd till militärt försvar, stöd till civilt försvar och stöd till det demokratiska systemet. Utifrån teorin om semantiska domäner, institutionell teori och kognitionsvetenskapliga teorier om gruppers tolkning genomfördes en enkätundersökning med 740 civilsamhällesengagerade individer. Utöver att undersöka hur de svarande relaterade till de tre huvudsakliga användningarna (semantiska domänerna) av begreppet i samhällsdebatten, undersöktes också hur deras organisatoriska sammanhang påverkade deras tolkning och inställning, samt om begreppets ökade användning i samhällsdebatten under senare år har påverkat tolkningen. Majoriteten är tveksamma eller negativa till att använda begreppet försvarsvilja om sitt civilsamhällesengagemang. Främst de utan koppling till frivilligförsvar, men också de redan försvarsengagerade. Både de som är positiva och de som är negativa till begreppet försvarsvilja förstår försvarsvilja som främst tillhörande den semantiska domänen militärt försvar och till del civilt försvar. Det uppfattas också av flera svaranden vara ett problematiskt uttryck. Undersökningen påvisar dessutom en diskrepans mellan mångas tolkning av den samhälleliga användningen och deras egen tolkning, där flera vill inkludera betydelsen stöd till demokrati. Även om försök sker hos de svarande att förskjuta begreppet till en mer inkluderande domän, uppfattas det i samhällsdebatten som alltför normerande för att de skall vilja använda uttrycket om sitt engagemang. Denna tolkning av begreppet försvarsvilja hos civilsamhällesengagerade riskerar att minska möjligheten på strategisk nivå att förståeligt kommunicera förmågemål relaterade till befolkningens försvarsvilja.This work examines the interpretations of and opinions on the word försvarsvilja/will to defend among individuals with civil society engagement and relates their interpretation to three main semantic domains in research and public Swedish discourse: support for military defence, support for civil defence and support for an open and democratic society. The respondents’ interpretations are related research on the concept, public strategy and debate on total defence. A survey including 740 respondents with civil society engagement was used to find civil society actors’ interpretation of will to defend and to analyze connections between the respondents’ organizational context and their interpretations view on concept. The majority of the respondents are not interested in using the word. The negative perception of the word is stronger among people with no connection to volonteer defence, but also exists among respondents active in volunteer defence. The main interpretation of the word when used in public debate is support for military defence and in part civil defence. There are also observed discrepancies between what the respondents mean is the societal definition of the word and their own interpretation. In general, the respondents have little interest in using the word for their committal to civil society and democracy. This hesitancy can determine whether attempts on policy level to broaden the definition to include commitment to democratic values is understood correctly in the public discourse, or when measuring will to defend.
Social reintegration of former al-Shabaab militants : How formal channels help mitigate threat perceptions
No full textWhat drives host community preferences towards the reintegration of former Islamist militants? While recognizing the importance of host communities in the reintegration process, empirical evidence on the factors influencing community support for reintegrating former Islamist militants remains limited. We hypothesized that community preferences are shaped along the perceived threat level influenced by three factors: organizational profile, identity traits, and reintegration channels. We empirically examined these using a conjoint survey involving Somali civilians from three cities with disarmament, demobilization and reintegration centers and a separate survey of former al-Shabaab disarmament, demobilization and reintegration graduates. Our results showed that security-related attributes, such as involvement in killings, recruitment history and unit association wielded a substantial influence on threat perceptions. Heightened threat perceptions played a key role in shaping wartime preferences, explaining how host communities categorize security threats. Notably, our results underscored a community preference for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program graduates and for those granted government amnesty over ex-fighters reintegrated through traditional channels, highlighting the efficacy of formal reintegration channels in managing community threat perceptions compared to informal pathways