With a changing state of security in Europe, defined by instability and unpredictability, the use of hybrid threats presents itself as an international security challenge. Characterized by the antagonistic use of both conventional and unconventional means, the hybrid threat actor coordinates these means in an attempt achieve specific goals, often under a guise of ambiguity. The complexity of hybrid threats deepens as advancing technology and globalisation enables the hybrid threat actor to use tools not only bound by geographical constraints, but tools that makes use the cyber domain and the constant flow of information. Tools ranging from military, political, economic, civil, and informational tools can, in various combinations, take advantage of specific vulnerabilities in the target state. Identifying and countering such a wide range of multifaceted tools provides a difficult task for most states. This study aims to investigate the Swedish hybrid threat scenario by focusing on the authorities concerned with national defence and security and their identification of potential hybrid threats that faces Sweden. For countering such hybrid threats the study investigates the highly topical Swedish defence act 2021-2025. Its focus being on investigating potential goals, strategies and abilities for building resilience and countermeasures regarding hybrid threats. The study finds that Sweden is subject to the use of hybrid threats by antagonistic state actors, mainly Russia and China. Tools being used against Sweden include for example espionage, strategic acquisition of businesses and real estate, disinformation, and cyberattacks. For countering these threats, the study fails to find a specific set of goals for hybrid threat defence. Instead, the study finds a broad effort to strengthen national defence and security including among others the rebuilding of the Total Defence, founding of a national cybersecurity centrum, instituting an agency for psychological defence as well as lifting the perspective of hybrid threat among relevant national agencies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:kau-82726 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Nilsson, Pierre |
| Publisher | Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för samhälls- och kulturvetenskap (from 2013) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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