Russian tanks rolling over the Ukraine border on February 24, 2022, catapulted military security issues back to top priority on the political agendas and awoke government agencies to new planning realities in the Nordic region. Not only did the Nordics face a disconcerting geostrategic dilemma caused by an antagonistic neighbor, but the realization of being small states in a world of the military mighty suddenly got an almost existential meaning. The revitalization of concepts like “total defense” quickly made clear that a motley crew of sectors within a state – ranging from the political elite, and civil and military government agencies, to the media, the business sector, and the general public – have to align in how they understand and respond to military threats by antagonistic actors. Moreover, the regional threat creates a demand for being able to effectively handle substantial cross-border consequences, and hence for coherent planning. In short, the Nordic states must develop a more common understanding of the meaning and implications of the threat to the region. This adds another critical dimension to societal preparedness; not only must different societal sectors within states be on the same page, but also those between states.
This project proposes a multi-layered approach that examines how three different levels – the political elite, government agencies, and the general public in Sweden and Norway – frame and act to handle the rising threat. It sets out from the established standpoint that reaching the overarching aim of societal preparedness requires a comprehensive understanding of the interdependence of different sectors, combined with a closer Nordic cooperation to manage security concerns in a turbulent world. To obtain this, we need to systematically address the knowledge needs on how different societal sectors understand, frame, and plan to act on (i.e. operationalize) the external military threats. This project sets out to fill these knowledge needs through a cross-sectoral study of two Nordic countries – Norway, and Sweden.
The project team is lead by Roxanna Sjöstedt, Lund University, with project members Hanna Bäck, Lund University and Louise Olsson, PRIO.
