Logotyp: till Försvarshögskolans hemsida

The Swedish strategy of deterrence was adopted during the Cold War. During the end of the Cold War the Swedish deterrence strategy was expressed by neutrality and with a massive army that could be summoned upon crisis or in case of an armed conflict. In the newly approved defense policy for period 2016/2020, once again the deterrence strategy is adopted into Swedish security policy. But with fewer amount of continuously serving soldiers and still no membership in any alliance.

This study aims to find similarities and differences in the security policy of 1982 and 2015, with a deterrence theory by John Harvey. It also aims to clarify Swedish grand strategy. The goal with the study is to contribute to today’s scholar about deterrence.

The study suggest that the Swedish deterrence strategy has changed, mostly in the way it is expressed. It has also lost its credibility due to lack of ability to perform what is said to performed. The strategy has changed from basic to general and is no longer expressed with denial, but rather punitive measures.