Berg- och dalbanan : En motivanalys av Försvarsmaktens nedrustning och upprustning 1999–2015

Between the 1950s and late 1990s the Swedish armed forces prepared for an invasion from the Soviet Union. However, after the cold war, the conditions changed, and the perceived threat slowly faded away. In lack of threats against the Swedish sovereignty, Swedish armed forces changed strategy. It led to extensive cuts in the Swedish army’s capability to defend the Swedish territory. The more extensive changes began in the late 1900s and in 2015, the Swedish government declared a military re-armament. This study is a comparative study of the justifications from the Swedish government for the changes in military capability. The propositions behind the defense acts of 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2015 represents the analysis material of this study. This study shows that the development of the security policy constituted the main justification for the disarming, as well as the military re-armament. The Swedish government has adapted its military capabilities according to how Russia has been acting militarily. The adaption has been made with respect to Russia’s current military capability. Thus, future changes in the Russian military strategy has been miscalculated. In addition to how Russia has been acting, disarmament has also been affected by other factors such as economy, culture and technology. The re-armament has also been affected by the defense’s low operational ability and increased need for cooperation capacity.