Cyber policy

The plan establishes that Sweden shall be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarization, and works for the dissolution of military alliances and general disarmament. Expanding offensive cyber capability and making cyber defense its own defense branch is an expansion of the military apparatus. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's requirements.

• against increased militarizationdecisive»Vänsterpartiet anser att Sverige ska vara en röst för fred och rättvisa, inte för ökad militarisering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party believes that Sweden shall be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarization.”
• disarmament and alliance dissolution»Vänsterpartiet arbetar för militäralliansernas upplösning« (party programme ↗)“The Left Party works for the dissolution of military alliances”
• democratic control of military»Det är av yttersta vikt att det militära systemet underställs en demokratisk kontroll.« (party programme ↗)“It is of utmost importance that the military system is subject to democratic control.”
• defense with maintained neutrality»försvaret ska med bibehållen neutralitet fortlöpande anpassas till« (party programme ↗)“defense shall with maintained neutrality continually be adapted to”

The plan states that cyber defence and intelligence capability shall be developed and that the capacity to withstand cyberattacks and disinformation shall be strengthened. It also explicitly links defence against hybrid attacks with the fact that the Swedish people are targets of influence campaigns, which supports linking cyber defence and psychological defence. The counter-proposal's fact-finding requirement thus aligns with the plan's direction.

• develop cyber defencedecisive»Vi vill fortsätta internationella samarbeten och utveckla cyberförsvaret och underrättelseförmågan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to continue international cooperation and develop cyber defence and intelligence capability.”
• withstand cyberattacks»Arbetet för att stärka förmågan att stå emot cyberattacker och desinformation ska stärkas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The work to strengthen the capacity to withstand cyberattacks and disinformation shall be strengthened.”
• defence against hybrid threats»Vi måste kunna försvara oss militärt, men också mot hybridattacker, spionage och cyberangrepp.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must be able to defend ourselves militarily, but also against hybrid attacks, espionage and cyberattacks.”
• psychological defence»Svenska folket är måltavla för påverkanskampanjer och desinformation.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Swedish people are targets of influence campaigns and disinformation.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan prioritizes human security over territorial, states that no nation can threaten itself into security and wants to shift resources to civil defense and crisis preparedness. It recognizes threats to IT systems as a new threat, but the counter-proposal's demands for developed offensive cyber capability and cyber defense as a separate defense branch represent military rearmament that the plan does not support. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal.

• human security over militarydecisive»Vi vill se en politik som sätter mänsklig säkerhet« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a policy that prioritizes human security”
• disarmament over rearmament»Ingen nation kan hota sig till säkerhet eller« (party programme ↗)“No nation can threaten itself into security or”
• civil defense is prioritized»satsa en större andel av försvarets pengar på det civila försvaret, och öka anslagen till krisberedskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“allocate a larger share of defense spending to civil defense, and increase appropriations for crisis preparedness.”
• IT threats recognized in threat picture»terrorism och hot mot IT- och andra« (party programme ↗)“terrorism and threats to IT and other”

The plan wants to strengthen defence quickly and forcefully and states that defence capability must be adapted to new threats, not only state and military ones. It also links military and civil defence as equally vital parts of society's preparedness. The counter-proposal's requirements for further developed cyber capability, connection to psychological defence and investigations into disposal legislation and military branches follow from these commitments.

• rapid strengtheningdecisive»Sverige ska försvaras. Vi vill rusta det militära försvaret snabbt, kraftfullt och långsiktigt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall be defended. We want to strengthen military defence quickly, forcefully and long-term.”
• adaptation to new threats»Därför måste vi också anpassa vår försvarsförmåga efter nya hot mot landet.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore we must also adapt our defence capability to new threats to the country.”
• strengthen civil defence»Även det civila försvaret är livsviktigt. Vi måste rusta civilförsvaret och samhällets beredskap inför krig och kris.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Civil defence too is vital. We must strengthen civil defence and society's preparedness for war and crisis.”
• protection of democracy»Sverige måste rustas snabbt och fokuserat; ingen ska kunna ta vårt demokratiska samhälle ifrån oss.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden must be strengthened quickly and in a focused manner; no one shall be able to take our democratic society from us.”

The plan does not address cyber defence's organization, but it requires that Sweden's defence capability increases significantly and that civil defence is strengthened at the same pace as the military. It also sees threats to societally important infrastructure from undemocratic states from a security policy perspective. Derived from that, the plan supports that cyber capability is developed further, linked to psychological defence and that organizational issues are investigated.

• stronger military defencedecisive»Sverige behöver ett betydligt starkare militärt försvar än i dag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs a significantly stronger military defence than today.”
• civil defence at the same pace»Antalet anställda och värnpliktiga i krigsorganisationen ska öka, ny materiel tillföras och det civila försvaret stärkas i samma takt som det militära.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The number of employees and conscripts in the war organization shall increase, new materiel be added and civil defence be strengthened at the same pace as the military.”
• security perspective on infrastructure»hamnar, elnät eller liknande, måste ses i ett säkerhetspolitiskt perspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“harbours, electricity grids or similar, must be seen from a security policy perspective.”
• increased defence capability»Sveriges nationella försvarsförmåga måste öka.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's national defence capability must increase.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The counter-proposal wants to develop capacity for defensive and offensive cyber operations, link cyber defense to psychological defense and investigate disposition legislation and a separate defense branch. The party programme explicitly establishes that Sweden must be able to face attacks from, among other things, cyber warfare and that new threats require an expanded security concept, and that crises must be met with all of policy's preventive options. The plan therefore supports a further developed cyber defense capacity.

• capacity against cyber attacksdecisive»möta angrepp från internationell kriminalitet, terrorism, cyberkrigföring, biologiska vapen, kemiska vapen« (party programme ↗)“face attacks from international crime, terrorism, cyber warfare, biological weapons, chemical weapons”
• expanded security concept»Nya typer av konflikter och hot leder till ett vidgat« (party programme ↗)“New types of conflicts and threats lead to an expanded”
• preventive crisis management»Kriser måste mötas med politikens alla preventiva« (party programme ↗)“Crises must be met with all of policy's preventive”
• total defence readiness»delta i hanteringen av katastrofer och andra svåra påfrestningar i samhället« (party programme ↗)“participate in managing disasters and other severe strains in society”

Worldstate weighed in: The Chinese balloon incident over the USA — Emphasizes the plan's requirement for capacity against new state threats and attribution

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto explicitly promises to develop cyber defence and to introduce an action plan with concrete measures against hybrid threats and cyberattacks, and states that defence must account for rapid technological development. The counter-proposal's demand for continued development of defensive and offensive cyber capability, linking to psychological defence, and clearer attribution is in line with this. The demand is supported.

• developed cyber defencedecisive»Utveckla cyberförsvaret« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Develop cyber defence”
• action plan against hybrid threats»Införa en handlingsplan med konkreta åtgärder mot hybridhot och cyberattacker« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce an action plan with concrete measures against hybrid threats and cyberattacks”
• technology-driven defence development»Vidare behöver det svenska försvaret i ökad utsträckning ta höjd för de möjligheter och risker som den allt snabbare teknikutvecklingen innebär.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Furthermore, Swedish defence needs increasingly to account for the opportunities and risks that increasingly rapid technological development entails.”
• protection against state cyberattacks»Ge företag som är engagerade i säkerhetskänslig verksamhet bättre stöd från staten att kunna möta cyberattacker, spionage och stöldförsök från främmande makt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Give companies engaged in security-sensitive activities better support from the state to be able to meet cyberattacks, espionage, and theft attempts from foreign powers”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The counter-proposal wants to develop defensive and offensive cyber capabilities, link cyber defense to psychological defense and investigate disposal legislation at heightened readiness. The plan requires that total defense be restored, that special crisis legislation be developed and that vulnerability in an increasingly digitalized society be better evaluated. The counter-proposal's requirements therefore lie in the plan's direction.

• evaluate digital vulnerabilitydecisive»Samhällets sårbarhet behöver bättre utvärderas, inkluderat hur ett allt mer elektrifierat och digitalt samhälle påverkar utsattheten vid en kris eller störning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society's vulnerability needs to be better evaluated, including how an increasingly electrified and digital society affects exposure during a crisis or disruption.”
• special crisis legislation»Ta fram en särskild krislagstiftning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Develop special crisis legislation”
• total defense equipped for war»Återupprätta ett totalförsvar som är rustat för krig« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Restore a total defense that is equipped for war”
• protection against system attacks»Störningar i elektroniska system, betaltjänster eller elnät kan uppstå på grund av naturfenomen, angrepp eller fel och skulle kunna få oöverskådliga följder relativt snabbt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Disruptions in electronic systems, payment services or power grids can occur due to natural phenomena, attacks or errors and could have unpredictable consequences relatively quickly.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.