The process of building the identity of the European union in the world is constantly ongoing. The common foreign and security policy of the union conveys the purpose of the external actions of the EU, led by the foreign policy chief. Hence, the role that the union is ascribed by the foreign policy chief is of great interest to foreign policy analysis. The purpose of the study is to investigate the differences in role conception of the EU between two EU foreign policy chiefs: Catherine Ashton and Federica Mogherini. The study applies Holsti’s theory of national role conception, which was developed to suit leaders of countries. The study is an exploratory, comparative case study applying qualitative content analysis on official speeches. The quotes expressing different role conceptions were sorted into different role categories, followed by a comparison within each role category between the foreign policy chiefs. The result of the study indicates Ashton standing out by perceiving EU’s role to be an active actor in neighbourhood of the union, as well as the importance of economic aspects in EU’s external role. Mogherini is distinctive by emphasizing the importance of the EU ensuring the security of the union. The signification of this study’s result is proving Holsti’s theory being applicable beyond countries - this time on the EU. Demonstrating differences in role conception of the two foreign policy chiefs, also shows that the role that the union is ascribed by the foreign policy chief differs depending on who is holding the position in question. One out of many hypotheses that can be formulated in order to explain the demonstrated differences in role conception, is the leader’s background in countries with differing views of the EU. To test this hypothesis as well as formulating others, further research is welcome.

This bachelor thesis takes off in Sweden's declared feminist foreign policy and how these ideas are found in relation to nuclear weapons. Traditional security policy today is characterized by a realistic perspective where states' power and security are placed at the top of the agenda. In contrast, the research field Feminist Security Studies often criticizes this view of security by pointing out that it is national security that is being discussed, not human security. The aim of the study is to discern what kind of security policy is portrayed in the inquiry and intends to answer the question,how is the inquiry presented in relation to feminist and traditional security policy? By using idea analysis as method and ideal types as a tool of analysis, the aim is to be able to understand what ideas regarding security that can be distinguished in the material, which is Utredning av konsekvenserna av ett Svenskt tillträde till konventionen om förbud mot kärnvapen (Inquiry of the consequences of a Swedish entry into the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons). The data is collected through qualitative and quantitative content analysis and is presented in tables and charts. The study shows that Sweden has a realistic view of the international system in which the state is portrayed as the central actor which should be protected from possible threats. The threats that are portrayed in the inquiry are mainly those that threaten to harm the state's sovereignty. Despite Sweden's pronounced feminist foreign policy, nor women or the people of the state are hardly mentioned. However, we can discern feminist ideas when it comes to what measures to take to maintain security, where cooperation and disarmament are highlighted as two central parts. The study contributes to increased insight into Sweden's view of security and the declared feminist foreign policy and how it works in practice. The result of the study shows the importance of trying to integrate the feminist foreign policy in more parts of the Foreign Ministry's work.

Denna forskning i svensk och finsk strategisk kultur svarar på forskningsproblemet: hurdan strategisk kultur har Sverige och Finland påvisat efter slutet av kalla kriget och på vilket sätt skiljer dessa sig åt. Syftet med forskningen är att öka förståelsen av svensk och finsk strategisk kultur, belysa vilka skillnader det finns mellan dessa samt vad skillnaderna beror på. Forskningen genomfördes som en tolkande fallstudie med fokus på tre strategiska normer kopplade till militär våldsanvändning, samt tre förändringsmekanismer. Avseende svensk strategisk kultur observerades att Sverige påvisat en förändringsbenägenhet som framförallt är riktad mot förändringar i målsättningar för användning av militärt våld. Förändring har skett via samtliga förändringsmekanismer. Ett internationellt fokus med strävan till globalt ansvarstagande färgar svensk strategisk kultur. Aktivitetsnivån inom användning av militärt våld samt diversifieringen av internationellt försvarssamarbete påvisar ett uttryckt beroende av extern hjälp. Den finska strategiska kulturen karakteriseras av att hålla fast vid vikten av nationellt försvar. Målbilden för användning av militärt våld har endast fluktuerat lite med inslag av internationellt ansvarstagande, men försvaret av finskt territorium har förblivit centralt. Utöver en relativt stabil målbild har dock finska normer om hur militärt våld skall användas samt föredragen samarbetsform utvecklats i samma riktning som i Sverige. Även ett explicit uttryck för beroende av internationellt stöd har vuxit fram.  Skillnaderna mellan ländernas strategiska kultur verkar främst basera sig på en skillnad i tolkning av hotbild, men även på olik inverkan av internationella organisationer samt olika tolkningar av innebörden av lärdomar ifrån internationella kriser. Denna skillnad i kulturer tar sig även uttryck genom staternas nationella identiteter som är beroende av såväl en nationell som internationell kontext.

The research paper examines the relation between theoretical descriptions of hybrid warfare and national observation of the phenomena in the Baltic countries. The study is based on the research problem that there is no coherent definition and scholarly debate about the nature of hybrid warfare. By comparing theoretical hybrid components with threats in the national security- and defence concepts of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the study aims to determine whether the theories accurately reflect empirical perception. The theoretical framework was based on 3 theories of hybrid warfare, which describes both military and non-military aspects of hybrid threats. The research study is that of a comparative case study. The security- and defence concepts is studied through the method of qualitative text analysis. The results of the study show that several of the hybrid components is described and is seen as a threat in the cases. However, the results were impaired, mainly due to temporal difference between studied texts, incoherent definitions of central concepts and lacking distinctions between internal and external influences in text and theory. The analysis concludesthat a continued focus on the inclusion of non-military means is relevant in studies about hybrid warfare and contemporary conflict.

Hybrid warfare has experienced a considerable scientific boost and is today seen by many research-ers as the primary threat to peace and security in the world. The scientific community agrees that hybrid warfare brings with it serious threats, hence the need for new and improved security policy efforts. Very little effort has been made to examine the view of the security policy actors though, with the risk being that future security policy and strategy will be misdirected.The purpose of this study is therefore to examine if a joint understanding between the scientific view on hybrid warfare and the security policy actors view on the 21st century threats exists by ana-lysing strategic and political decision-making documents. The research design is that of a qualita-tive case study using two cases, Switzerland and Sweden.The result shows that even though a joint understanding in many respects do exist, there are con-siderable discrepancies between the two approaches. Although these are few, it turns out that these not only have serious consequences for the correlation, but also for the war science discipline and for the security policy actors.

During the main part of the 20th century, Swedish security politics was mainly focused on the Soviet Union and the cold war. In case the world was likely to see another large war between the great powers, there was a frightening chance that Sweden would be involved. This was motivation enough to have a large-scale military organization that could defend the nation. Post 1991 a large part of the threat seemed to be neutralized and the usefulness of a large-scale military organization was examined. The defense decision of year 2000 suggested cutbacks in military spending. In year 2020 another defense decision was determined due to new possible threats to the country’s safety. Through an analysis of arguments, this paper will focus on the realistic and liberal theory to analyze the critique against both of the defense decisions. / <p>Betyg D.</p>

I denna studie undersöks förekomsten av säkerhetisering av klimatfrågan i regeringspropositioner mellan åren 2009 och 2019. Kan vi identifiera säkerhetiseringsdrag som gjort att frågan gått från en politiserad till säkerhetiserad fråga under denna period. Fokus är att se hur inramningen av klimatfrågan sett ut i svenska regeringspropositioner. Syftet är att genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys undersöka och förstå hur klimatfrågan ramas in som en fråga om mänsklig säkerhet eller statens säkerhet utifrån två diskurser, miljösäkerhet eller miljökonflikt. Inramningen av klimatfrågan kan i förlängningen ha en reell påverkan på Sveriges klimatpolicys. Resultatet visar att en rad säkerhetiseringsdrag ägt rum och att diskursen miljösäkerhet oftare förekommer i regeringspropositionerna.

This thesis examines how the Swedish threshold concept can be understood and developed at the highest political and strategic level. The problem is that understanding the threshold concept with its dynamics is in its infancy. The Swedish debate shows that a disagreement exists about the concept, in particular about the extent to which the threshold can be equated with deterrence. In addition, it is problematic to use deterrence in isolation since the theory of coercive power also contains compellence. An actor that focuses on deterrence must also be prepared to use coercive diplomacy if deterrence fails. The two concepts have the same basis but operate on different dynamics. A state with a strategy that is conceptually based on deterrence alone risks being exposed to conceptual and doctrinal surprise in the event of conflict, as the difference between deterrence and coercive diplomacy disappears in conflict. In addition, it is up to the adversary to decide which of the two concepts is governing. The dissertation argues that the concept of threshold includes more than deterrence, “defense/obstacles”, marker, alarm clock and trip wire. This is done by applying discourse analysis to Swedish official political and military strategic documents dealing with the concept of threshold. This analysis is important today because of hostile actions are now taken place in the grey zone between war and peace. By examining how deterrence and coercive diplomacy are related, the dissertation increases the understanding of the concept of threshold as a conflict management tool in the gray zone. The study concludes that the threshold concept needs to be further developed, if it is to be used as a conflict management tool in the gray zone.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka Sveriges inställning till det permanenta strukturerade samarbetet (PESCO) utifrån teorierna om småstaters säkerhetsdilemman med betoning på dikotomin mellan autonomi och inflytande. Undersökningen genomfördes med en textanalys av framförallt propositioner, motioner, partiprogram, debattartiklar, samt med samtalsintervjuer av Socialdemokraternas, Moderaternas, Vänsterpartiets och Liberalernas försvarspolitiska företrädare. Resultatet indikerar en dominans av parti-strategiska argument för samarbetet och kulturbaserade argument emot det. Slutsatsen är att Sveriges inställning till PESCO är i stort sett positiv, men att den präglas av en ambivalens som beror på pragmatiska argument kontra kulturbaserade argument.

Mellan åren 1990 och 2009 fördes en politik i Sverige som förändrade försvaret från ett invasionsförsvar till ett insatsförsvar. Samtidigt som invasionsförsvaret monterades ner sökte Sverige sin säkerhet solidariskt med andra stater med vilka Sverige identifierat sig. Våra nordiska grannar Norge, Danmark och Island var medlemmar i NATO, vilket för dem innebar en säkerhetspolitisk trygghet. Sverige och Finland stod utanför och kunde inte ansluta sig då det parlamentariska stödet saknades. I den säkerhetspolitiska utveckling som Rysslands ambitioner skapat i regionen, framför allt från 2009 och framåt, står länder som Sverige utan tillfredställande säkerhetslösning. Ett försvarssamarbete med Finland framstod som ett säkerhetspolitiskt alternativ bland andra. Det finsk-svenska försvarssamarbetet inleddes 2014, men varför just Finland? Vad var de bakomliggande orsakerna till valet av partner? Syftet med studien var att undersöka drivkrafterna bakom det finsk-svenska försvarssamarbetet och för att skapa förståelse för hur en småstat kan navigera mellan olika alternativa försvarsstrategier beroende på omvärldsläge och hotmiljö i närområdet. Undersökningen har genomförts mot Allisons och Zelikows tre modeller: rationella aktörsperspektivet, organisatoriska perspektivet och maktkampsperspektivet. Resultatet visar att störst förklaringskraft fanns i det rationella aktörsperspektivet men kan delvis förklaras från de övriga två.