Willingness to defend has been stated as a fundamental prerequisite for the Swedish total defense. Despite this, research regarding the subject is limited, and there is a lack of knowledge on what willingness to defend means from the citizens’ point of view. Drawing on theories on territory, national identity and institutionalization processes, I explore the conceptualization of willingness to defend from a socio-spatial perspective through semi-structured interviews. This study engages in what people believe is worth defending, and why, and how this differs depending on the geographical scale. The results show that willingness to defend is a versatile concept with a breadth of connotations, as are the ideas about what is worth defending. The democratic system is recurrently described as a central issue worthy of defense, but this also creates a dilemma in the context of the total defense service. Some consider engaging in defense a citizen-duty, others express that participation must be based in free choice. On the global scale, willingness to defend is connected to, challenged, and affected by international actors and events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, Sweden's new NATO membership creates another moral dilemma, as considered positive from a security perspective, while at the same time challenging Swedish exceptionalism as a moral superpower.