Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

Security research has long encompassed fields concerned with speech acts and language constructions. There has however been a lack of understanding of how language, through linguistic differences, influences conceptions of security. This study examines how säkerhet and trygghet are used as security concepts in political debates in the Swedish parliament between 2015 and 2025. The study also examines how this legitimizes certain policy. The study aims to develop an understanding of local security concepts in Sweden, thereby strengthening the state of knowledge within critical security studies. By applying the framework of vernacular security, a national, linguistically conditioned understanding of security emerges. The analysis of the empirical material shows, among other things, that trygghet over time has had an even distribution across “soft” issue areas and that its usage has been high. Säkerhet, by contrast, has increased dramatically since the invasion of Ukraine, and the use of trygghet has subsequently fallen below the use of säkerhet. Through this, the study concludes, among other things, that säkerhet is to a greater extent conditioned by individual security events, and that trygghet is not subjected to securitizing debate to the same degree. In conclusion, the study’s contribution is situated within a dynamic and evolving field of research. Future research would fit with Swedish understandings of security at the local level, and how the national and local levels are influenced by the global, Anglo-American understanding of security.