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The research problem that has been identified for this study is that earlier research has heavily depended on strained financial situations in military organizations in order to explain why interservice rivalry occurs. This study seeks to complement this by looking at other possible factors as to why interservice rivalry emerges. 

The purpose of the study is to look at interservice rivalry within the Swedish military between 1965 and 1975 and to establish what kind of interservice interactions can be identified in this time period in which the Swedish military also suffered from downsizing. However, a different approach will be used to study this case. The study will utilize Major Nicholas J. Clemens's theory on interservice rivalry which is explained in his report Fighting to get along, 1993. In his theory, Clemens established two main causes as to why interservice rivalry occurs. These are uncommon doctrine and resource allocation between the different services within the military. These factors can be combined to establish four possible interaction types between the different service branches. 

With this in mind the main research question of the study has been established; What does Clemens’ theory contribute to our understanding of Swedish interservice rivalry during the Cold War?

The study uses a theory-consuming approach with its foundation in Clemens’ theory. The method used is a qualitative text analysis with a hermeneutic approach. The material used is military journals produced either specifically for a given branch of the military or an all-encompassing military journal. 

Ultimately, the study concludes that the army and airforce had a hostile interaction and that the same is true between the army and navy. However the airforce and navy had a cooperative interaction.