Svensk soldat - En studie i Försvarsmaktens förändrade syn på den svenska soldaten, från invasionsförsvar till insatsförsvar

The Swedish armed forces have undergone a fundamental change during the last 10-15 years. During the late 80´s and early 90´s the Swedish territorial defense was the major priority for the armed forces. A new focus of the armed forces was needed after the Cold War when the threat changed. The reorganization of the Swedish armed forces from an invasion-defense to a focus of peacekeeping is described in this essay. We outline how this change has affected the armed forces view on the Swedish soldier, thereby the essay´s title: “Swedish Soldier”. The armed forces way of controlling the behavior of the soldier changed under the same period from hard discipline to a softer more encouraging approach when responsibility and initiative are promoted as good qualities. We analyzed this change through two editions of a military handbook given out to conscript soldiers in the year 1983 and 2005. Through these books we can follow the changing standards to which the armed forces hold its conscripts. We find strong evidence that this standards have changed from 1983 to 2005 and the change is dramatic as you will see in the following pages. Through this dramatic change in standards we now have a soldier in transformation.