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Ångström, Jan, Professor
Publications (10 of 45) Show all publications
Ångström, J. (2023). Seger och nederlag i Ukrainakriget. Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift, 125(3), 669-692
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Seger och nederlag i Ukrainakriget
2023 (Swedish)In: Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift, ISSN 0039-0747, Vol. 125, no 3, p. 669-692Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Who will win the war in Ukraine? For centuries the outcome of war has been described in terms of victory and defeat. Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, scores of articles in the daily press have touched on the issue of the Ukraine war. At the same time, an increasing number of analysts and scholars argue that the concepts victory/defeat are not the most adequate to describe the outcomes of several modern wars. It is empirically rare with unequivocal outcomes where one side unconditionally surrenders and war almost never follows a clear template. Superpowers are seemingly defeated by poor developing countries and planned blitzkrieg operations get stuck in the mud and lack of maintenance. At the same time, it is easy to see that there is a significant interest for the parties involved in a war to continue using the concepts victory/defeat because one of the few things that can legitimize the enormous costs of that war is precisely victory. In this text, the outcome of the Ukraine war – as it looks like in early 2023 – is analyzed according to Johnson and Tierney’s model of the so-called score-keeping and match-fixing.

National Category
Social Sciences Political Science
Research subject
War Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-11954 (URN)
Available from: 2023-11-24 Created: 2023-11-24 Last updated: 2023-11-27Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. & Ljungkvist, K. (2023). Unpacking the varying strategic logics of total defence. Journal of Strategic Studies
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Unpacking the varying strategic logics of total defence
2023 (English)In: Journal of Strategic Studies, ISSN 0140-2390, E-ISSN 1743-937XArticle in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

What is the strategic logic of so-called ‘total defence’? At first glance, total defence may appear as one coherent strategic concept. Indeed, it was predominantly small, non-aligned states that pursued total defence during the Cold War. In this article, however, we demonstrate that depending on how ‘total war’ is understood, there are subsequently different strategic logics ingrained in total defence. We show this by developing a typology of different total defences; and by empirically illustrating variation in strategic logics over time through a historical analysis of the total defence(s) in Sweden. Recognising the inherent variation of total defence is important since it helps us to understand that hidden behind a nominal pursuit of a total defence strategy are multifaceted strategies.

Keywords
Total defence, strategic logic, total war, Sweden, strategy
National Category
Social Sciences
Research subject
War Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-12010 (URN)10.1080/01402390.2023.2260958 (DOI)
Available from: 2023-12-08 Created: 2023-12-08 Last updated: 2024-02-07
Ångström, J. & Ledberg, S. (2021). "Civil and military” as a constitutive categorization of the study of war and politics. In: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics: . Oxford University Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>"Civil and military” as a constitutive categorization of the study of war and politics
2021 (English)In: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, Oxford University Press, 2021Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The existence of a clear-cut division between “civil and military” is in many ways a foundation for international law and diplomacy. It is also a given starting point in many studies on current issues relating to war and peace, as well as in historical interpretations of past conflicts. Yet the civil–military dichotomy is not always a useful way of approaching complex matters, and by adopting such a starting point, some issues risk being overlooked. There are numerous historical examples, from the American Civil War, to wars of national liberation ending colonialization, to insurrections shaking political status quo such as the Marxist–Leninist revolutions; all illustrate that neither the agents of war nor the victims fit neatly into one of two clear categories. In a contemporary setting, non-traditional forms of warfare that make use of cyber space or autonomous systems further serves not only to undermine ideas of internal–external security but also to blur the distinction between civil and military. In the everyday making and implementation of policy, these concepts are indeed fluid and the borders between them highly variable, continuously contested, and renegotiated. As concepts, they can be seen as co-constitutive in the everyday usage. Civil and military are therefore best understood as norms, whose contents and interrelationship are contextually determined. At the same time, civil and military are organizational principles of the state, and as such the distinction is, arguably, too important, too deep-seated within the modern state- system, and too engrained in how legal and political order are understood to disappear in the near future.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford University Press, 2021
Keywords
civil and military, constituent norms, military in politics, separate civil and military, war
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-9910 (URN)10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1913 (DOI)
Available from: 2021-05-04 Created: 2021-05-04 Last updated: 2021-06-17Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. & Widén, J. (2021). 軍事理論の教科書: 戦争のダイナミクスを学ぶ. Tokyo: Keiso Shobo
Open this publication in new window or tab >>軍事理論の教科書: 戦争のダイナミクスを学ぶ
2021 (Japanese)Book (Refereed)
Alternative title[ja]
Gunji riron no kyōkasho : sensō no dainamikusu o manabu
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Tokyo: Keiso Shobo, 2021. p. 308
National Category
Other Social Sciences
Research subject
War Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-9613 (URN)978-4-326-30296-3 (ISBN)
Note

Översättning till japanska av Ångström, J., Contemporary Military Theory : the dynamics of war (2015). 

Available from: 2021-01-16 Created: 2021-01-16 Last updated: 2022-02-02Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. (2020). Contribution Warfare: Sweden's Lessons of the War in Afghanistan. Parameters, 50(4), 61-72
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Contribution Warfare: Sweden's Lessons of the War in Afghanistan
2020 (English)In: Parameters, ISSN 0031-1723, E-ISSN 2158-2106, Vol. 50, no 4, p. 61-72Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Contribution warfare removed the influence of Sweden's politics from the Afghanistan War (2001-14) and created learning conditions favoring case-specific, tactical lessons over the strategic ones. This article applies the concept of "contribution warfare" to analyze the lessons from Sweden's involvement in the war. The inconsistent application of this knowledge resulted largely from the political and operational realities of a small nation contributing to an alliance dominated by a single actor.

National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-9610 (URN)
Available from: 2021-01-14 Created: 2021-01-14 Last updated: 2021-01-17Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. & Haldén, P. (2019). The poverty of power in military power: how collective power could benefit strategic studies. Defense and Security Analysis, 35(2), 170-189
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The poverty of power in military power: how collective power could benefit strategic studies
2019 (English)In: Defense and Security Analysis, ISSN 1475-1798, E-ISSN 1475-1801, Vol. 35, no 2, p. 170-189Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Strategic studies deals intimately with the topic of power. Most scholars in the discipline work with a concept of power as an adversarial zero-sum competition. This is natural and necessary. However, other conceptions of power developed within political science and sociology could enrich strategic studies. Approaching two typical, traditional tasks of strategy – alliance building and war-fighting – this article demonstrates the heuristic mileage of theories of collective power. In particular, we can shed new light on the post-Cold War transformation of NATO as well as state-building as a strategy in counter-insurgencies with new ideas of power. Broadening the palette of theories of power is thus valuable if strategic studies is to prosper as an independent field of study.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2019
Keywords
power, strategic studies, NATO, state-building, strategy
National Category
Other Social Sciences
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-8867 (URN)10.1080/14751798.2019.1600812 (DOI)
Available from: 2019-12-16 Created: 2019-12-16 Last updated: 2020-01-14Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. & Petersson, M. (2019). Weak Party Escalation: An Underestimated Strategy for Small States. Journal of Strategic Studies, 42(2), 282-300
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Weak Party Escalation: An Underestimated Strategy for Small States
2019 (English)In: Journal of Strategic Studies, ISSN 0140-2390, E-ISSN 1743-937X, Vol. 42, no 2, p. 282-300Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this article, we develop the strategic rationale behind weak party escalation against stronger adversaries. There are, we suggest, four main strategies: to provoke a desired over-reaction from the stronger adversary; to compartmentalize conflict within a domain in which the weak party has advantages; to carve a niche with a stronger ally, and to forge a reputation of not yielding lightly. Spelling out these different logics contributes to the literature on small state strategies and escalation. It also suggests, contrary to much of the existing literature, that it can be rational for weak parties to escalate against great powers.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2019
Keywords
strategy, asymmetry, escalation, small state, rationality
National Category
Other Social Sciences
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-8866 (URN)10.1080/01402390.2018.1559154 (DOI)
Available from: 2019-12-16 Created: 2019-12-16 Last updated: 2021-11-29Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. (2018). Seger: ett begrepp i behov av nyansering. In: Klas Kronberg, Anna-Maria Forssberg (Ed.), Minnet av Narva: om troféer, parader och historiebruk (pp. 213-234). Lund: Nordic Academic Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Seger: ett begrepp i behov av nyansering
2018 (Swedish)In: Minnet av Narva: om troféer, parader och historiebruk / [ed] Klas Kronberg, Anna-Maria Forssberg, Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2018, p. 213-234Chapter in book (Refereed)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2018
Series
Armémuseums årsbok, ISSN 0349-1048 ; 76
National Category
Other Social Sciences
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-8302 (URN)978-91-88661-57-9 (ISBN)
Available from: 2019-01-08 Created: 2019-01-08 Last updated: 2019-01-15Bibliographically approved
Ångström, J. (2018). The US perspective on future war: why the US relies upon Ares rather than Athena. Defence Studies, 18(3), 318-338
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The US perspective on future war: why the US relies upon Ares rather than Athena
2018 (English)In: Defence Studies, ISSN 1470-2436, E-ISSN 1743-9698, Vol. 18, no 3, p. 318-338Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article addresses why the US in its military operations tends to focus on only one dimension in war – the military narrowly understood. More precisely, in the US case, its armed forces tend to be preoccupied with platforms and understand military capabilities as those that deliver death and destruction. I explain this one-sided understanding of the military dimension in war with how the US armed forces think about future war. How the US understands future war is, in turn, a reflection of how it organizes its long-term defense planning procedures. In particular, by approaching the concept of future as by and large structurally determined, a focus on platforms becomes natural. Investments in weapons systems, too, are more easily motivated to Congress since it is easier to attach a price to developing, for example, a new submarine than it is to attach a price to the cost of developing a military organization that is adaptive, learning and anticipating. The understanding of the future as something that happens whether you like it or not is particularly odd in the US context where of course a central tenet of the American dream is that the individual creates her own future.

Keywords
defence planning, strategy, united states, future war
National Category
Other Social Sciences
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-8299 (URN)10.1080/14702436.2018.1497441 (DOI)
Available from: 2019-01-08 Created: 2019-01-08 Last updated: 2019-01-15Bibliographically approved
Egnell, R. & Ångström, J. (2017). Afghanistan: Krig utan slut? (2ed.). In: Karin Aggestam och Kristine Höglund (Ed.), Om Krig och Fred: En introduktion till freds- och konfliktstudier (pp. 153-172). Lund: Studentlitteratur AB
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Afghanistan: Krig utan slut?
2017 (Swedish)In: Om Krig och Fred: En introduktion till freds- och konfliktstudier / [ed] Karin Aggestam och Kristine Höglund, Lund: Studentlitteratur AB, 2017, 2, p. 153-172Chapter in book (Refereed)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Studentlitteratur AB, 2017 Edition: 2
National Category
Political Science Other Social Sciences
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-7000 (URN)9789144115740 (ISBN)
Available from: 2017-09-04 Created: 2017-09-04 Last updated: 2018-01-26Bibliographically approved
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