Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

In April 2023, the Swedish parliament made an unusually rapid decision to deploy armed forces to Sudan. The operation aimed to evacuate the embassy staff and Swedish citizens following the outbreak of civil war. The operation marked a departure from Sweden’s typical military engagement principles such as humanitarian motives, UN-mandates and, participation under external command.

Through interviews with military commanders, officials at the Government Offices, and politicians, this study explores how the process behind this decision can be understood. Guided by John Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework, the empirical evidence from the interviews, shows that the issue of embassy crisis preparedness has existed for a long time, as well as courses of action for managing embassy crises. The decision-making process was expedited by strong leadership, clear political will, and pre-existing relationships – both among politicians and across government agencies.