Eric Adamson and Jason Moyer of War on The Rocks report that Sweden is preparing its citizens for war. They write:
“It’s time for action!” “There could be war in Sweden.” “Who are you if war comes?”
These were the messages and no longer rhetorical questions that Sweden’s top political and military leadership shared at Sweden’s annual security conference in early January 2024. Since 2017, officials have not ruled out the possibility of an armed attack. But restating these challenging questions in such stark terms caused a ripple effect across society, with a slew of headlines such as: “Did the Supreme Commander and government go too far with their warnings?” and “Many children are now afraid of war coming to Sweden”. Supreme Commander Micael Bydén later went onto children’s television programming to reiterate that he was not worried about war coming to Sweden right now, but about the country’s and citizens’ preparedness to respond to crisis or war in the future. Indeed, Sweden is facing the “gravest security crisis since World War II.” As a result, it is not only attempting to rapidly rebuild its military capabilities but its civil defense as well.
Sweden’s civil defense is the counterpart to military defense. Together, they constitute the country’s “total defense,” which draws upon the collective strength of the armed forces, public and private sector, and civil society to withstand crisis or an armed attack. After decades of cuts in defense expenditures in the post-Cold War era, infamously referred as a “strategic time out,” Swedish civil defense is starting from historically low levels. In the face of Russian aggression, Sweden is rediscovering its own total defense culture. Now in NATO, Sweden’s civil defense planning and capabilities can serve as a model for strengthening national and collective resilience across the alliance. […]
As a NATO member, Sweden’s total defense concept may become a “Swedish export” across the alliance. Though lessons can be drawn from the Cold War, Sweden is not simply rebuilding its total defense — it is developing a new model for the NATO era with the capabilities and capacity to meet novel threats. At a time when European countries are committing more to defense spending, Sweden demonstrates that investing in military hardware is only the start of building a robust and credible defense — that work begins at home. Drawing upon their unique histories, Sweden and Finland can together lead the way in creating a more resilient alliance.
Read more here.
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