Syftet med denna studie är att analysera och diskutera genus inom Försvarsmakten.   FN-resolution 1325 (2000) vilken är antagen av Sverige, handlar bland annat om kvinnors och flickors särskilda utsatthet vid väpnade konflikter. Resolutionen lyfter med anledning av denna utsatthet, som ett sätt att råda bot på kvinnors utsatthet vikten av att öka jämställdheten mellan män och kvinnor.  Ett sätt är att föra in jämställdhets­perspektiv i statliga myndigheter och resolutionen uppmanar medlemsländerna däribland Sverige att agera främjande inom en rad områden. Arbetet med jämställdhet är ett prioriterat område av den svenska regeringen och omfattar uppdrag och regleringar för hur myndigheterna ska uppnå de uppsatta jämställdhetsmålen.   Vi kan argumentera för att Försvarsmakten är en drivande aktör när det handlar om att arbeta för lika rättigheter för män och kvinnor, samt i arbetet med att utveckla genusperspektiv på institutionell nivå. Denna uppsats problematiserar hur jämställdhet och genus fungerar i den vardagliga praktiken. Studien grundar sig på teorier som bygger på social konstruktionism och refererar bland andra till Burr (2004). Burr menar att genus är något som förändras över tid och konstrueras i samspel mellan människor där diskurser har en central roll. Enligt Burr är diskurser meningsskapande och ett sätt att representera oss själva och i en social praktik, det är något som konstrueras genom vad vi säger, känner, önskar och vad vi faktiskt gör.   Vad gäller jämställdhet på organisationsnivå (Kanter, 1993), exempelvis mellan olika grupper och på interaktionsnivå (West och Zimmerman, 1987) d.v.s. i det mellanmänskliga samspelet, så kan vi med vår studie samtidigt hävda att genusperspektiv i den svenska Försvarsmakten släpar efter. Vi har funnit att de anställda, särskilt kvinnor i Försvarsmakten, utvecklar olika strategier för att överleva eller för att accepteras i den faktiska genusregimen (Acker, 2006, Connell, 2009). Denna praktik kan vara problematisk för både män och kvinnor. Att anmäla missförhållanden relaterat till genus kan vara problematiskt eller t.o.m. försummas.   Datainsamlingen är baserad på både skriftliga policytexter som uttrycks av Försvarsmakten, men även på intervjuer utförda med både kvinnor och män, militärer och civila. Intervjuerna och texterna har dekonstruerats och analyserats diskursivt. Mot bakgrund av vår studie argumenterar vi att olika diskurser kan påverka hur genus uttrycks i samspelet mellan människor och för hur genus konstrueras i de dagliga praktikerna. Denna studie är kritisk, men även positiv till Försvarsmakten relaterat till myndighetens arbete för att uppnå jämställdhet mellan män och kvinnor.

This thesis aims to analyse how well recruits of the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) have embraced soldier ideals put forward by the SAF following a shift in means of recruiting, changing from a system of compulsive conscription to an All-volunteer force (AVF). This has been done using a Governmentality-analysis of an extensive survey conducted at Ärna Air Base in November of 2019. The concept of Governmentality has to do with the way states and other forms of authorities govern. Launched in the 1970s by French philosopher Michel Foucault, it is based on an understanding that states no longer governing mainly by force, but rather by appealing to its citizens’ free will governing through “the conduct of conduct”, through the creation of self-governing subjects. The recruits were asked to rank different reasons for enlisting, and to assess various ideal qualities of a soldier, as well as pictures used by the SAF with the intention to recruit soldiers. The results were widespread and showed a big dissonance both among the recruits internally but also between the SAF’s military identities promoted by the SAF and the recruits. In some instances, the recruits seem to embrace the SAF’s ideals and in others they seem to be hostile of them. A few reasons for this are suggested in the final chapter of the thesis for example the societal collective understanding of the SAF or the role of the instructing officers.

Western countries are regarded as open democracies where free speech is viewed assomething that people have fought and died for throughout history; several westernmilitary forces label themselves as defenders of (liberal) democratic values, wherethe citizens’ right to speak is held as utmost importance. Swedish military officershave a unique, compared with other countries, right to participate in public debatesand voice their opinions in news media and on the internet. However, throughouthistory, there have been events that indicate that soldiers do not enjoy the samerights as other citizens. This thesis explores how the Swedish Armed Forces handlefreedom of expression within its ranks and define the perceived existence of a“sphere of unsuitability”. All reviewed cases refer to a situation where the individualpublicly contradicts the organisations’ own expressed views and interests. Thisthesis has identified the existence of a “sphere of unsuitability” that, together withambiguous messages from the Swedish Armed Forces, has led to military personnelwithdrawing from public debates, even under anonymity. The conflict between theindividual’s freedom of expression and military interests occurs on several levelswhen criticism lies outside what the Armed Forces perceive as acceptable.In summary, the tentative conclusion is that although loyalty and reliabilitymay be called into question by the military, it is when the Armed Forces’ labels anexpression or opinion as unsuitable that the individual may lose any furtheropportunities of a career. The study makes two main research contributions. First,addressing how the Swedish Armed Forces deal with freedom of expression withinits organisation provides an empirical investigation of a critical democratic issue.Second, by identifying a perceived “sphere of unsuitability”, including how such asphere is constructed, the thesis adds theoretical substance to a developing researchfield.

Huvudsyftet med föreliggande studie är att belysa soldaters upplevelser av stress under utlandstjänst, samt stress i övergången utlandstjänst till hemkomst med fokus på fysisk aktivitet och träningsvanor. Vidare var det av intresse att studera soldaters upplevelse av hjälp/stöd. Studien genomfördes via ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt utifrån två semistrukturerade intervjuguider och två olika intervjutillfällen. Samtliga åtta deltagare var män mellan 2553 år gamla med erfarenheter från olika typer av förband samt från olika missioner. Utlandstjänstgöringarna utfördes i länder som Afghanistan, Bosnien och Kosovo. Upplevd stress under mission beskrevs som rastlöshet vid ledig tid på campen eller en oro inför uppdrag. Under uppdrag kunde deltagarna uppleva kumulativ stress i ovissheten att något kan hända dem eller kollegorna. Deltagarna gav uttryck för liknande symptom vid hemkomst kopplat till stress då rastlöshet under ledigheten hemma beskrev som utmanade. Fysisk aktivitet visade sig ha en stressreducerande effekt vid rastlöshet och oro under utlandstjänst samt i övergången utlandstjänst till hemkomst. Dessa fynd kopplas till en diskussionsdel utifrån föreskrivna referensramar, samt även förslag till framtida forskning och implikationer. / The main purpose of the present study is to illustrate soldiers experinces of stress during deployment and in the transition from deployment to homecoming with focus on physical activity, stress and exercise habits. Further on, it was of interest to study the soldiers experience of help/support. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach from two semistructured interviewguides and two interview occasions. The soldiers age were between 2553 years. The soldiers in this study came from various types of units as well as various deployments that took place in countries such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and BosniaHercegovina. Stress during deployment was described as perceived restlessness during freetime on the camp. During operations could the participants exeperience cumulative stress wich could be shown as anxiety becausee of the uncertainty that something could happend to them or their colleagues in the unit. The participants expressed similar symptoms at the homecoming related to stress as restlessness during the holiday and anxiety. Physical activity was found to have a stressreducing effect during deployment and in transition deployment to homecoming. Results of the study were associated with prescribed theoretical frames of reference in the discussion. Finally suggestions for future research and implications are provided.

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Title: The defend of the picture – a comparison of recruitment advertisements from the Swedish Armed Forces / Bilden av försvaret– en jämförande studie av Försvarsmaktens rekryteringsannonser</p><p>Number of pages: 35</p><p>Author: Greta Simonsson</p><p>Tutor: Mats Lind</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C</p><p>Period: Autumn Semester 2007</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University</p><p>Aim: Do the messages in the recruitment advertisements from the Swedish Armed Forces differ between such advertisements produced in the “defense against invasion” era and those produced in the present, more internationally oriented era, when analyzed using semiotics? And, how are these advertisements understood by their receivers?</p><p>Material and method: Interviews, a focus group and semiotic analysis.</p><p>Main results: The messages in the recruitment advertisements have changed. In line with the changed focus of the Swedish Armed Forces to more international cooperation and missions, the present day advertisements do indeed have a more international and aggressive focus.</p><p>Keywords: Swedish Armed Forces, information, recruitment, advertisements, semeiotics.</p>

The following Bachelor thesis is analysing how the Swedish armed forces promotes women in order to attract them to their organisation. Specifically it investigates (1) "How does the Swedish armed forces break the social norms of what it means to be a soldier?" (2) "How do they present a gender equal division of labour?" (3) "How do they try to affect women´s attitude towards the organisation?" This study investigates the Swedish armed forces, an organisation with a great underrepresentation of women. The underrepresentation of women is something that the Swedish armed forces openly tries to change through their marketing. This thesis is a single case study with both qualitative and quantitative approach, using Harding´s gender process theory in a descriptive design. By gathering television commercials from the Swedish armed forces user page on YouTube, I explore how the Swedish armed forces tries to minimize the underrepresentation of women. Their strategies are analysed by using Harding´s three gender processes. The results show that the organisation is active in all three processes, but focuses on breaking the social norms of what it means to be a soldier.

Abstract The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the conflicts of interests that may arise between the differing land use needs of a municipal planning agency and The Swedish Armed Forces. The study is based on three distinct cases located in the municipalities of Umeå, Luleå and the region of Gotland; each respective case presents unique contextual factors at the local level and these also serves to exemplify the issue at a national level. The work has been carried out as a case study and the methods employed were research interviews, document-based research and literature studies. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the planning practice used by the respective municipal planning agencies and that employed by The Swedish Armed Forces in terms of differing aims, methods and outcomes. The study also highlighted how the outcome of each case was dependent upon a combination of contextual factors and the impact of external factors such as national politics, changing security policy, urban development and progression of the environmental legislation. In short, The Swedish Armed Forces is a land use agency that has had significant impact on the municipal planning in each of the locations that has been studied. In a Swedish context, their land use needs are classified as being of national interest and thusly have precedence over competing land use claims. These factors have combined to create conditions in which municipal planning is, to some extent, often restricted by the land use needs of The Swedish Armed Forces.

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.

For a long time the military arena has been a context that is male-dominated and which even has been described as the arena that produces ideal forms of masculinity. This study examines the conditions for the women who choose to join the male-dominated military arena. The purpose of the study was to provide knowledge about womens experiences from basic military education in Sweden through a gender perspective. And more specifically, give insight into how women who completed education relate to expectations associated with being women and expectations associated with the role of the soldier. Central questions were created and these concerned how women perceived the role of the soldier, the extent to which they perceived gender segregation practices and the strategies used by women to deal with the male-dominated education and its possible gender segregation processes. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with five women who had complete basic military education in Sweden. A theoretical framework was created that contained theories about gender, gender power systems, women's strategies in male dominated professions, gender segregation processes, gender regimes and hegemonic masculinity. Previous research on women's conditions and experiences in the military indicates that women face opposition and exclusion, while women's presence at the same time has challenged discourses about femininity and the normative soldier. The results from the studie pointed out that the women perceived the military arena as a place where they were given the opportunity to do gender in new ways, while highlighting different problem areas during the education. These included that women were not expected to perform in the same degree as men and that the commanders had little understanding of specific female needs or questions.

In 2018, the compulsory military service will be reinstated in Sweden and will, for the first time, be comprised of both men and women. The Swedish Armed Forces are looking to raise their diversity and wants to reflect the population of the Swedish society and are therefore working actively with their marketing to reach groups that have previously been excluded. The purpose of this thesis is to examine what type of image of Sweden the Swedish Armed Forces are (re)producing through their marketing and how it is used to try and interpellate new, poten-tial recruits. This will be done by examining four advertisement campaigns as well as comments retrieved from the Swedish Armed Forces social media accounts. The analysis will be conducted through a semiotic image analysis and a discourse analysis inspired by Laclau and Mouffe. The essay takes its theoretic starting point in a feminist critique against militarism and highlights the issues of using women and/or LGBTQ-people in the armed forces as symbolic figures of modernity and democracy. The study’s result shows that inclusion becomes a way for the armed forces to improve their own image and elude scrutiny regarding their own problematic structures by positioning themselves as an agency of good. This means that, by the inclusion of marginalized groups, there is as risk of legitimizing the Swedish Armed Forces existence, while still maintaining the problems that these groups are subjected to.