Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the building of the Swedish total defence was brought to the fore. In its focus, the Swedish government has emphasized total defence should be resilient to external threats, but without defining the concept of resilience. This study takes its starting point in trying to identify key actors' interpretation of the concept of resilience by studying key policy documents related to the development of the Swedish total defence through a qualitative text analysis. Through a theory-consuming approach, a theoretical framework has been constructed that broadens the concept of resilience in a security policy context to identify both explicit and implicit statements and representations from each actor's policy document. To identify possible differences, scientific definitions of resilience are adopted as an indicator to visualize each actor's presentation of the concept of resilience. These indicators are engineering resilience, ecological resilience, and evolutionary resilience. The results of the study show that there are differences between the central actors, the politicians, the Authority for civil protection and emergency preparedness (MSB), and the Swedish Armed Forces, in the presentation and interpretation of the concept of resilience, which may have a negative impact in implementing resilience throughout the Swedish total defence system.