Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

This thesis examines the U.S. government’s perceptions of its primary and peer-level nuclear competitor, Russia, in the post-cold war era. Drawing on prior research on Russian signaling, and on (nuclear) deterrence in action – the thesis employs deterrence theory and ontological security to examine how U.S. administrations’ views have evolved from Clinton to Biden. The thesis concludes that publicly communicated views on Russian nuclear capabilities change from initial optimism to, after Russia’s attack on Ukraine 2014, suspicion and even to some extent hostility. Ontological security, combined with deterrence theory, explains how complex narratives are found to be central to understanding how the U.S. government views Russian nuclear postures and capabilities – and while traditional deterrence theory provides a useful foundation for interpreting these evolving views – ontological security allows a more comprehensive understanding of underlying rationality and perceptions.

Denna uppsats handlar om Telubaffären, som utspelade sig under slutet av 70-talet och början av 80-talet. Uppsatsens huvudsakliga syfte är att utforska händelsen i kontext av Sverige under kalla kriget, med fokus på utrikespolitiken och den svenska självbilden. Med hjälp av detta, och med avstamp i forskning om internationella relationer analyseras den allmänna diskussionen om händelsens efterspel. Uppsatsens huvudsakliga källmaterial är knappt 60 tidningsartiklar skrivna 1979–1982. Undersökningen genomförs genom kvalitativ textanalys och avslutas med en analys via kriterier givna av tidigare forskning och teori. Uppsatsens slutsatser är att regeringens agerande framstår som till allra största del förenligt med svensk utrikespolitik och även IR-teorins realistiska och liberala perspektiv, även om frågetecken kan resas gällande rådande svensk självbild och identitet. I den mediala diskussionen, och i oppositionens kritik, lyser främst etiska argument utifrån uppfattningar om självbild igenom.

This study is about mapping out the Swedish General Staff's focus areas for information gathering through the military and naval attaches in Japan between the end of the Russo-Japanese War and the beginning of the First World War. More specifically the years 1908-1911. The study deals with experience management as well as how knowledge was obtained from abroad and what this says about the organisational culture of the Swedish armed forces. The study’s purpose is answered through three different questions, one mainquestion and two operationalizing questions. The method used in the study is qualitative text analysis with a hermeneutic approach. The approach aims to find out what the Swedish military attachés intended to study and what they considered important to report home from Japan and what this can tell us about the organisational culture of the Swedish armed forces. This method is thus about interpreting, deciphering, and understanding the received writings, reports, and messages. The theoretical starting point for this study is based on parts of the book The Culture of Military Organizations. Two categories of analysis from this theory have been selected: performance orientation, which is a measure of the extent to which a military organisation encourages and rewards members to challenge goals, promote innovation, and improve performance, and future orientation, which is a measure of the extent to which the military organisation engages in future-oriented behaviours such as delaying in order to enjoy the moment, planning and investing in the future. The concept of orientalism is also used in order to understand why certain lessons were accepted or rejected. The investigation is based on material taken from the General Staff's Foreign Affairs Department, specifically a volume of correspondence, reports, and messages from the military and naval attachés in Tokyo and Peking 1908-1911. The conclusions drawn in the study are that orientalism was an occuring element, but the Swedish attachés despite that enthusiastically took part in war experiencesand reported home their learned lessons, observations and assessments. Based on the lessons learned and the two categories of analysis stated above, Sweden's military organisational culture could at the time be considered to contain a relatively high future orientation and performance orientation.

Despite advancements in military theory and technology, maneuver warfare remains a concept shrouded in misunderstanding. This persistent lack of understanding or disagreement underscores the need for a rigorous examination of what maneuver warfare really is and how it is applied in tactics.

This paper addresses the persistent challenge of understanding maneuver warfare within the military context. It aims to test the Ideal sequenced model theory presented by Peter Thunholm and Lars Henåker by examining and applying in a case study. Their theory outlines a series of steps that if followed in the given sequenced order will increase the likelihood of winning battles. The case in this study is the battle of Tolvajärvi during the Winter war 1939. 

The result of the study shows a distinct explanatory power and connection between the theory and case. 

1952 inrättades fallskärmsjägarskolan i Karlsborg. Förbandet var tänkt att lösa jägaruppgifter långt bakom fiendens linjer. Uppsatsen behandlar hur förbandet fallskärmsjägarna förhöll sig till de grundläggande förmågorna, dels under potentiella operationer men även under utbildningen av soldater. Uppsatsen behandlar även huruvida och på vilket sätt fallskärmsjägarna förstärkte de grundläggande förmågorna hos försvaret som helhet.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att utifrån reglementen och anvisningar analysera de grundläggande förmågorna hos svenska fallskärmsjägarförband, både utbildningsmässigt och skarpt.

Genom doktrinen med de grundläggande förmågorna har reglementen och anvisningar analyserats kvalitativt.

Resultaten av uppsatsen visar att samtliga förmågor fanns representerade hos förbandet både under utbildning och under genomförande av företag. Förbandet förhåller sig till förmågorna på ett medvetet sätt som kan utläsas av utbildningen mot tänkta uppgifter. 

Resultatet visar även att förbandet har möjlighet att främst genom sin förmåga till att ge underrättelse förstärka de grundläggande förmågorna hos Försvarsmakten som helhet.

I inledningen av den storskaliga ryska invasionen av Ukraina tilldrog sig en relativt ny typ av vapensystem, den beväpnade drönaren, stor uppmärksamhet. Denna typ av system och dess framtida roll inom krigföringen har varit och är fortfarande omdebatterad. Forskningen har fram till nyligen, till stor del, saknat relevant empiri för att undersöka den beväpnade drönarens effekt i en mellanstatlig högteknologisk konflikt.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka en mindre stats nyttjande av UCAV som ett sätt att projicera luftmakt. I det här fallet genom en fallstudie av konflikten i Ukraina. För att belysa Ukrainas användande av UCAV har en luftmaktsteori benämnd, Underdog’s Model, nyttjats. Modellen, framtagen av Arash Heydarian Pashakhanlou, syftar till att beskriva hur en mindre stat genom goda prestationer inom sex specifika faktorer, kan gå segrande ur en väpnad konflikt mot en starkare motståndare.

Studien visar att Ukraina i mycket hög grad uppnått goda prestationer inom modellens faktorer. Effekten av de ukrainska UCAV-operationerna förefaller också, i krigets inledande fas vara mycket stor. Efter krigets första månader avtar dock denna effekt något, på grund av en motståndarens anpassning och nyttjande av motmedel.

Underdog’s Model har en relativt god, om än inte fullständig, förklaringskraft beträffande Ukrainas användning av UCAV i konflikten. Nyttjande av UCAV framstår som en kostnadseffektiv väg för en småstat att projicera luftmakt i en asymmetrisk konflikt. Dock har vissa sårbarheter hos sådana system blivit mer framträdande varefter konflikten fortskridit. 

This work analyzed the German blitzkrieg in World War II to produce fourcomparison dimensions that can be said is the essence of blitzkrieg. Thesecomparative dimensions are then used in case studies to highlight the process ofblitzkrieg. I make two case studies in my work in Israel and the U.S. war in the SixDay War of 1967 and the Iraq war 2003.In World War II the Germans achieved great success in the beginning of the warbecause they used the blitzkrieg. After World War II, one can wonder whetherblitzkrieg is still feasible and the necessary conditions for this. The purpose of mystudy is to examine the key components of blitzkrieg after World War II.The method I am using in my work is qualitative text analysis, based on previousresearch on lightning war. In the analysis section, I make a comparative analysis ofmy two case studies.

This bachelor’s thesis examines the narrative about the Swedish Women’s Volountary Defence Organization (Svenska Lottakåren) in Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning, and Svenska Dagbladet during the preparedness period (beredskapstiden) through a qualitative narrative analysis. Drawing from Lawrence Freedman’s theory of strategic narratives, the research sheds light on the newspaper’s role in shaping perceptions of Lottakåren and its efforts during the period. Furthermore, it investigates the narratives implications on a strategic level. The study concludes that the narrative may have influenced public perceptions of Lottakåren, serving specific strategic aims, such as creating support for the organization within society, fostering unity withing the organization, encourage volunteering and recruitment of new members. In doing so, this research fills a gap in knowledge on the subject while emphasizing the press’s vital role at a strategic level in times of war and crisis. 

The war in Ukraine had a large media presence during both 2014 and 2022. The way media frames information about the conflict can lead to the reader of said media to be influenced into viewing actors and events in a certain way, which can have an effect on public opinion and political decision making. Because of this framing theory is used as the theoretical basis to analyze the Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter. The goal of this analysis is to form an understanding about how the media has framed the Ukraine war over time. To reach this goal the analysis attempts to answer the following questions: How Swedish newspapers have framed the Ukraine war during 2022 and 2014? Is the framing in these papers biased towards any actors in 2022 and how does this compare to 2014? How does the framing of the conflict in 2022 differ from previous studies of the events from 2014? The analysis has been conducted using qualitative text analysis, and the result of this is presented both using text and by using a quantitative method through charts. The analysis focuses on 241 different newspaper articles published between February 2022 and July 2022 and two studies focusing on the Swedish news framing during 2014. The result of the analysis shows continuity in the framing as both focused heavily on the Russia vs west struggle that is playing out on the international and domestic political stage, instead of the war itself. There were some changes however, as 2022 introduced new subjects such as migration, economy and energy crisis to the framing of the war in Ukraine. The analysis also shows that the framing of the media in 2022 is heavily biased towards Ukraine with only a small amount of pro russian tendencies, which is a similar result to what was presented by previous studies covering the conflict during 2014.

Intelligence organizations and their operations are by their nature secretive and want to continue as such. This problematizes research around them and especially intelligence cooperation with other countries can be considered among the most secret parts of an intelligence organization. This is put in the context of the essay where Sweden and Finland have a long and extensive historical relationship. That relationship also includes military aspects with volunteer soldiers and even today with the joint decision to apply to NATO. Previous research on Swedish intelligence gathering and intelligence cooperation in Finland has been sparse and scattered in larger works that have focused largely on the Swedish intelligence organization and its operations.

The purpose of the essay is twofold. One is to map the Swedish intelligence gathering in Finland by C-byrån and see how it changed during the course of the war. The second is to highlight and discuss the intelligence cooperation between the Swedish and Finnish intelligence services. Since the purpose is twofold, two different theoretical frameworks and researchers' thoughts will be used. The first is Agrell's thoughts on different types of intelligence, which will be used to analyze what is obtained in Finland. The second is Michael Herman's thoughts on intelligence cooperation, which will be used to explain and discuss the Swedish-Finnish intelligence cooperation. The method chosen for this essay is a qualitative text analysis with a close reading of reports carried out. The essay will also contain elements of quantitative methods in the form of a table and figures to more easily visualize some of the results. The end result of this essay is that the C-byråns intelligence gathering in Finland changed in volume and type of intelligence during the course of the war. Within the intelligence cooperation, it is established that the cooperation was at its greatest and in clarity during the Finnish Winter War. After the Finnish Winter War cooperation decreased and became discreet, then returned during the Lapland War in clarity. Intelligence cooperation with the Finnish intelligence service became a method of approach and a professional exchange for the C-byrån to obtain intelligence on active war experience of how Soviet troops fight and their tactics.

American victory in World War II was perceived to be due in large part to its scientific and technological superiority, best exemplified by the development of the atom bomb. Throughout the Cold War, scientific theories and methodologies were recruited even more extensively to weigh on military and strategic affairs. Cybernetics, along with operations research and systems analysis, sought to impose order and predictability on warfare through the collection, processing, and distribution of information. The emergence of the notion of command-and-control epitomized a centralizing approach which saw military organization purely as a vast techno-social machine to be integrated and directed on the basis of the predictions of mathematical models and the deployment of cybernetic technologies. Preparation for a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union was the primary focus of this conception of warfare but it failed spectacularly the test of Vietnam, thereby dramatically revealing its theoretical and practical bankruptcy. Indeed, cybernetic warfare was deeply flawed in its restrictive assumptions about conflict, its exclusive focus on quantitative elements, its dismissal of any views that did not conform to its norms of scientificity, and its neglect of the risks of information inaccuracy and overload.

This article considers the place of the Hiroshima bombing and the September 11 attacks as singular acts of violence constituting major points of rupture in the historical consciousness and chronological narratives of the Western world: Ground Zero is Time Zero. Geographically and temporally delineated instances of intense death and destruction, both acts have been construed as moments when the world `changed for ever'. Our schemata of interpretation — the mental frameworks through which we impose meaning and continuity on the world around us and determine the range of our expectations — were violently overthrown by those events, shattered by images that exceed our minds' capabilities of re presentation and symbols that challenge our liberal metanarratives of ineluctable progress. By bringing to the fo re their aesthetic dimension and reading them through the lens of the Kantian notion of the sublime, we can grasp those events in their original intensity as overwhelming revelatory experiences. Apocalyptic both in their imagery and the meaning attributed to them, those unprecedented acts of terror re p resent turning-points in our reconstituted historical narratives, marking a culmination of history leading to it as well as the start of a new era in which it is proclaimed that many previous assumptions no longer hold.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att jag skall efterforska, och redovisa de bakomliggande orsaker som kan ligga i grunden till svaret, varför Gustav II Adolf genomförde de stora förändringarna inom Sveriges krigsmakt. Författarens frågeställning inför arbetet på denna uppsatsen var som följande:

• Vad och vilka kan ha utgjort en bakomliggande kraft till att Gustav II Adolf genomförde så stora förändringar inom den Svenska krigsmakten?

The Second World War was the most devastating conflict in human history and one which provides innumerable lessons - military, political, and moral. Across the globe, both soldier and civilian endured suffering on a scale previously unknown to humanity as nations grappled with the demands of total war.

The Vietnam War has generated a vast literature but one which has often forgotten that the United States fought in Vietnam as part of a coalition. This article examines Washington's efforts under President Lyndon B. Johnson to recruit third country combat assistance. He and his colleagues sought military help less for practical reasons than for political ones as a way of legitimizing the war both domestically and abroad. However, no NATO countries were willing to participate, and some of the five troop-contributing countries (Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand) were attracted probably more by American largesse than by idealism. In exploring the diplomacy of coalition-building, this article has a contemporary resonance in the light of the military campaigns initiated by the White House since 2003.

Russia's renewed interest and involvement in the African continent is reminiscent of a time when the Soviet Union supported various ideologically aligned groups to win a geopolitical power struggle and assert its position as a global superpower. The motives seem to have changed, but the question is whether Russian warfare in Africa has changed as well. In this comparative study, the Soviet Union's support for the MPLA and their takeover in Angola in 1975 is compared with Russia's support for the military junta that seized power in Mali after a military coup in 2020, aiming to determine how Russian/Soviet warfare in Africa has evolved over time. Supported by Thomas Rid and Lars Ulfving's theoretical framework on so-called active measures, three operationalized variables are identified and analyzed as: white, gray, and black. Through qualitative text analysis, reports and literature from the cases are examined. The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of how hybrid warfare has been and is currently used as a means of Russian influence in Africa. The methods for this have rather been reinforced than changed historically by global development trends, especially the spread of information technology and the utilization of private companies and other actors. This study has confirmed that there is a historically rooted common Russian strategy to acquire and exert influence, a strategy based on the Soviet Union's traditional methods, active measures. A dual strategy consisting of both official policies and unofficial means where the unofficial means are driven by private actors, facilitating Russia's plausible deniability.

The research regarding the six day war and the aerial operations named Operation Moked is extensive but there are certain shortcomings in the research that examines both the operation and the principle of surprise.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to this research by utilising existing military theories on the principle of surprise in order to identify indicators that are representative of surprise.  These indicators are thereafter used in a study of Operation Moked in order to examine the extent of in which the principle was utilised.

The result of this research goes to show that the principle of surprise was utilised in great extent by Israel during Operation Moked.

The allied campaign in Italy had a significant relevance during World War 2. It was one of the first joint operations carried out, which brought significant challenges. The general perception of the war in Italy was that it was a superior Allied victory and that it was unnecessary and costly, diverting resources from the planned invasion of Normandy. The British did not want to commit its forces to France until German resources were diminished and the Soviet Union demanded a new front in Europe. So, the Allies choose to hit the soft underbelly of the Axis, Italy. Once Italy removed itself from the war, the Allies expected an easy walk to Rome. But that’s not accurate, as the Germans in Italy proved to be a tough opponent despite their numerical inferiority. The major issue with victory in war is that it´s not black or white, victory can be seen from many different angles and perspectives. 

This study aims to examine the campaign in Italy from Sicily to Rome based on two theories of victory. This is to gain a broader understanding of the campaign. From the analysis, it can be seen that both sides achieved victories from different perspectives. 

The purpose of this thesis is to disclose the extension of Maneuver Warfare in the strategies that were practiced by Israel during Operation Gazelle. This was analyzed through a qualitative text analysis of scientific papers, books and maps. This study points out that the Israeli army applied the theories during the operation, but lacked the use of combined arms of air support for the ground units.

Följande uppsats undersöker vad svenska officerare studerade under två militära studieresor till Frankrike under perioden 1954-1960. Syftet med uppsatsen är att få en tydligare bild av vad som officerarna avsåg att studera efter andra världskrigets slut och hur kunskaper samt innovation förmedlades under fredstid. 

Studien genomförs med en kvalitativ textanalys av källmaterialet för att utröna den svenska militära organisationens studium av den franska Krigsmakten utifrån de erfarenheter som uppstått i samband med det världskrig som föregått världen. Detta görs genom att analysera den militära organisationens uppbyggnad med hjälp av kulturella dimensioner. Analysen av detta bedrivs även mot bakgrunden till den omorganisation av maktbalansen i världen som skedde. 

Resultaten av studien tyder på att den kulturella faktorn har haft en betydande roll inom den militära sektorn, och att det från Sveriges sida fanns ett stort intresse att ta lärdom av erfarenheter från det föregående världskriget. 

The Vietnam war has had a huge influence on how we fight counterinsurgencies and although the war is generally seen as a failure, lessons from it are still being learned to this day. Unlike the Amer- icans, the Australians and New Zealanders using a more population-centric approach where quite successful in pacifying their assigned province.

This thesis aims to examine if the population centric approach is the reason for this success by using Kilcullens modern theory of company-level COIN. The 28 articles for successful COIN in Kilcul- lens theory are interpreted and operationalized into questions. Using a qualitative text analysis, the questions are then tested against both first- and second-hand sources discussing Australia’s and New Zealand’s operations in the war.

The result of the analysis shows that although the 28 articles were not used on a company level, the majority of them were used on a battalion level. After discussing the way companies and battalions were used in the war, this study reaches the conclusion that Kilcullens theory can explain the success achieved. However, Kilcullens theory is most likely not solely responsible for the success, more unknown factors are probably involved which gives suggestions for further research.

Ända sedan flygets intåg i kriget har debatten om hur det ska användas på mest effektiva sätt fortsatt att prägla debatten inom luftmaktsteori. Luftmakt står idag till förfogande för många stater av olika storlek. Dock så existerar få luftmaktsteorier med fokus på den kvalitativt svagare parten i en konflikt. Teorier bygger vårt sätt att utveckla doktriner och därmed hur vi tränar, utbildar och använder luftmakt. 

”The Underdogs Model” är en nyutvecklad svensk luftmaktsteori som tar sin utgångspunkt i den kvantitativa asymmetrin gällande luftmakt och har som syfte att förklara hur en svagare part kan öka sin sannolikhet att nå framgång mot en starkare motståndare genom att förhålla sig till sex stycken faktorer.

Syftet med denna studie är att genomföra en teoriprövning av denna teori och undersöka dess förklaringskraft. Detta genom att pröva teorin mot fallet slaget om Storbritannien 1940. Fallet som valts innehåller stora delar av asymmetri och användande av luftmakt.

Resultatet visar på en stor förekomst av faktorerna i UM samt att Storbritannien presterade bättre än Tyskland i samtliga faktorer. Med grund i detta bedöms teorins förklaringskraft stärkt i det aktuella fallet. Efter genomförd analys kan det inte uteslutas att även andra faktorer inverkade på utfallet på slaget eftersom studien fokuserats på de sex faktorerna i teorin.

Förord - Fredrik Eriksson

Det militärhistoriska 2012 - Per Iko

Militärhistoriens roll i USA - intryck från en vistelse vid Ohio State University - Gunnar Åselius

Artiklar och uppsatser

• Magnus Stenbock - myten, bilderna och mannen - Björn Asker
• Krigets historiografiska funktion - framställningar av krig i svensk historieskrivning 1747-1857 - Hampus Östh Gustafsson
• Historia som värdegemenskap - finsk, estnisk och svensk historia i polska ögon under mellankrigstiden - Piotr Wawrzeniuk
• Rapport från det militära samarbetets vardag - finska militärattacheers syn på Sverige och svensk-finsk militär samverkan, 1924-1939 - Anders Ahlbäck
• Med staten som husvärd - en undersökning av officerarnas inkvartering inom indelningsverket 1776-1807 - Christopher Arunasalam
• Lokalsamhället som resurs och som objekt för skador under Napoleonkrigen - följderna av den ryska armens logistiska lösningar i Vasa län under finska kriget 1808-1809 - ]ussi Jääskeläinen
• Disciplinering av indelta och värvade kavallerister under 1800- och 1900-talen - ett civilisationsfenomen? - Börje Ekenvall

Recensioner

• Myten om äran och eliten - erfarenheter från andra världskriget - anmälan av Dan Öberg
• Norska specialförband - från Milorg till Afghanistan - anmälan av Lars Ericsson Wolke
• Moral och småstatsperspektiv - anmälan av Henrik Edgren
• Andra världskriget än en gång - anmälan av Lars Ericsson Wolke
• Bland gravstenar, skelett och minnen - anmälan av Lars Ericsson Wolke
• Historien och de stora männen - anmälan av Fredrik Eriksson
• Kalla kriget lokalt - anmälan av Sten Munck af Rosenschöld
• Kustförsvar i norr - anmälan av Sten Munck af Rosenschöld
• Totalförsvaret i Skåne beskrivet i detalj - anmälan av Sten Munck af Rosenschöld
• Vardagsspråkets krigiska natur? - anmälan av Thomas Roth
• Två journalister i Afghanistan - anmälan av Mikael Wendt
• "Den här gången kommer allt att bli annorlunda" - Afghanistan 1979-89 - anmälan av Fredrik Thisner
• Grannar på gränsen till sammanbrott - slaget vid Adrianopel år 378 - anmälan av Fredrik Thisner
• Från mellanblå via fältgrå till kamouflage modell 90 - anmälan av Dag Eckerberg
• Svensk general i amerikanska inbördeskriget - anmälan av Jimmy Engren
• Tankeväckande om diktaturernas minsta byggstenar - anmälan av Lars Ericsson Wolke
• En fruktansvärd och läsvärd skildring - anmälan av Fredrik Eriksson
• Om kvinnornas inträde i militär verksamhet - anmälan av Esbjörn Larsson
• På spaning efter ett kustartilleri som försvunnit - anmälan av Sten Munck af Rosenschöld
• Samband, samband, samband! - anmälan av Sten Munck af Rosenschöld
• Beordrad ellerfrivillig? - anmälan av Thomas Roth
• Nordamerikanska indianers krig - anmälan av Lars Rössle

The tactic used by the archipelago fleet is described as being derived from the theoretical writings of Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, and as developed adjacent to the innovations in naval architecture. This dissertation, however, argues that this may not capture the entirety of the historical truth. The influence of French naval frameworks within the Swedish naval academics could have influenced the practical application of tactics. By delving into the events of the archipelago fleet’s foremost display of tactics, the 1790 Battle of Svensksund, this dissertation aims to determine the actual origin of the tactics. Both French and Swedish theoretical frameworks will be broken down using the concepts of ”ideal types” and then later applied to a chronological depiction of the battle. The results demonstrate that the archipelago fleet did deploy the tactic of af Chapman during the 1790 Battle of Svensksund. Yet, during the movements and preparations prior to the battle, influences from alternate frameworks can be identified. Additionally, the dissertation concludes that af Chapmans tactic was not revolutionary but was rather built upon the previous tactical thought. Thus, the dissertation demonstrates the challenge of pinpointing the origin of a specific tactic, by demonstrating the similarity and correlation between different frameworks.