Sweden's territory and territorial integrity

The plan opposes militarisation and arms race and wants Sweden to be a voice for peace and de-escalation rather than for increased military presence in the friction zone against Russia. It certainly wants to see a modern total defence with broad capability, but builds it on general conscription and society's robustness, not on new offensive formations. To build up an amphibian battalion and brigade air defence on Gotland therefore contradicts the plan's line.

• against militarisation and arms racedecisive»Vi vänder oss emot militarisering och kapprustning.« (party programme ↗)“We oppose militarisation and arms race.”
• Sweden as a voice for peace»Vänsterpartiet anser att Sverige ska vara en röst för fred och rättvisa, inte för ökad militarisering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party considers that Sweden shall be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarisation.”
• peace and disarmament»Världen behöver gå mot fred, nedrustning« (party programme ↗)“The world needs to move towards peace, disarmament”
• total defence on a conscription basis»Vi vill se ett modernt totalförsvar byggt på allmän värnplikt, med en« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a modern total defence built on general conscription, with a”

The plan wants the increased defence appropriations to be implemented in more conscripts, modern materiel and strengthened military presence across the country, which supports the counter-proposal's demand for a new amphibious battalion and brigade air defence on Gotland. The plan is built on a strong people's defence and expanded conscription. Gotland is not singled out specifically in the documents, so the position is derived from the commitment to military presence across the country.

• military presence across the countrydecisive»Vi vill att ökningen ska omsättas i bland annat fler värnpliktiga, modern materiel samt förstärkt militär närvaro över hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want the increase to be implemented in, among other things, more conscripts, modern materiel and strengthened military presence across the country.”
• increased defence appropriations»Anslagen till det militära försvaret ska öka till motsvarande två procent av BNP.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Appropriations for military defence shall increase to correspond to two percent of GDP.”
• strong people's defence»Sverige behöver bygga ett starkt folkförsvar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs to build a strong people's defence.”
• expanded conscription»Svenskt folkförsvar med utbyggd värn- och civilplikt.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish people's defence with expanded conscription and civil defence obligation.”

The plan says nothing about Gotland or how defence forces shall be sized geographically. The closest principle is that a larger share of defence spending should go to civil defence and emergency preparedness, and that security policy shall be characterized by pursuit of peace, détente and diplomatic solutions. Based on that prioritization, new military units on the island lie outside the plan's line, even though the plan also wants a credible comprehensive defence.

• civil defence prioritizeddecisive»satsa en större andel av försvarets pengar på det civila försvaret, och öka anslagen till krisberedskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“allocate a larger share of defence spending to civil defence and increase budgets for emergency preparedness.”
• peace and détente»säkerhets- och försvarspolitik ska präglas av en strävan efter fred, avspänning och« (party programme ↗)“security and defence policy shall be characterized by a pursuit of peace, détente and”
• credible comprehensive defence»diplomatiska lösningar. Samtidigt är ett starkt och trovärdigt totalförsvar – både civilt« (party programme ↗)“diplomatic solutions. At the same time, a strong and credible comprehensive defence – both civil”

The plan requires that the defence be armed quickly, powerfully and long-term because Russia's invasion has shown that Sweden could be drawn into war, and that the entire country should be safe from the country's borders and inward. New units and air defence on Gotland are a concrete application of that. However, the plan does not identify any geographical area, so the security is low.

• rapid rearmamentdecisive»Sverige ska försvaras. Vi vill rusta det militära försvaret snabbt, kraftfullt och långsiktigt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall be defended. We want to arm the military defence quickly, powerfully and long-term.”
• the threat from Russia»Rysslands folkrättsvidriga invasion har visat att vi inte kan utesluta att Sverige dras in i krig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Russia's violation of international law invasion has shown that we cannot rule out Sweden being drawn into war.”
• territorial integrity»Sverige måste därför kunna försvara sitt eget territorium.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden must therefore be able to defend its own territory.”
• safety throughout the country»Vi ska stärka samhällskontraktet för ett tryggare och starkare Sverige, från landets gränser till ditt kvarter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We will strengthen the social contract for a safer and stronger Sweden, from the country's borders to your neighbourhood.”

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 requires a significantly stronger military defence and that Sweden within NATO particularly contributes the infrastructure that provides strategic depth for the defence of Finland and the Baltic states. Gotland is the Swedish key position for precisely that depth, and defence's main task is to defend the entire territory. New units on the island thus lie in the plan's line.

• strategic depth in the Balticdecisive»Sverige ska inom Nato särskilt kunna bidra med den infrastruktur som behövs för att skapa ett nödvändigt och strategiskt djup för försvaret av Finland och Baltikum.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall within NATO particularly be able to contribute the infrastructure needed to create a necessary and strategic depth for the defence of Finland and the Baltic states.”
• stronger military defence»Sverige behöver ett betydligt starkare militärt försvar än i dag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs significantly stronger military defence than today.”
• entire territory shall be defended»försvara Sveriges territorium och dess befolkning« (party programme ↗)“defend Sweden's territory and its population”
• 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 plan requires that the defence force has such strength, composition and deployment that it acts as a war deterrent during security policy crises in the near area, which is precisely the argument the counter-proposal uses for Gotland. It also establishes that territorial integrity shall be valued and that Sweden cannot remain neutral if neighbouring countries are attacked. The plan, however, does not single out any specific area or unit type, which is why the conclusion about an amphibious battalion and brigade air defence on the island is derived and uncertain.

• war deterrent capability in the near areadecisive»gruppering att den kan verka krigsavhållande vid säkerhetspolitiska kriser i närområdet.« (party programme ↗)“deployment that it can act as a war deterrent during security policy crises in the near area.”
• territorial integrity»genom att värna territoriell integritet och utöva gränsskydd samt värna fredstida yttre« (party programme ↗)“by valuing territorial integrity and exercising border protection and value peacetime external”
• solidarity in near-area defence»Vi kan inte stå neutrala om våra grannländer anfalls.« (party programme ↗)“We cannot remain neutral if our neighbouring countries are attacked.”
• sufficient defence resources»Det samlade totalförsvaret måste ha tillräckliga resurser för att kunna garantera« (party programme ↗)“The combined total defence must have sufficient resources to be able to guarantee”

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 promises to strengthen the Army, Air Force and Navy in capacity and equipment and that appropriations shall reach two per cent of GDP, and it wants Sweden to contribute concretely to security in the Baltic Sea region. New units and brigade air defence on Gotland are an application of precisely that commitment. The plan does not single out Gotland, so support is inferred.

• strengthened defence branchesdecisive(2022 manifesto)
• security producer in the neighbourhood»Sverige bör bidra konkret till skyddet av våra vänner i de baltiska länderna, exempelvis genom att överväga att skicka bidrag till Natos stridsgrupper eller att delta med vårt stridsflyg i Natos incidentberedskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should contribute concretely to the protection of our friends in the Baltic countries, for example by considering sending contributions to NATO's battlegroups or participating with our fighter aircraft in NATO's incident readiness.”
• increased defence budgets»Verka för att försvarsanslagen uppgår till motsvarande 2 procent av BNP redan år 2025« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work towards defence appropriations amounting to 2 per cent of GDP already in 2025”
• territorial integrity asserted»Sverige måste kunna hålla gränsen.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden must be able to hold the border.”

flags: citat_ej_verifierat

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 continue investments in Gotland with an amphibious battalion and brigade air defense because the island lies in the friction zone against Russia. The election manifesto requires that Sweden be armed for a new security policy situation in the region, that total defense be re-established with capacity to meet potential attackers and that equipment be procured. A strengthening of the most exposed area follows from these commitments.

• armament in the regiondecisive»Rusta Sverige inför en ny säkerhetspolitisk situation i vårt närområde« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Arm Sweden for a new security policy situation in our region”
• capacity to meet attackers»Sverigedemokraterna vill återupprätta totalförsvaret och att Sverige ska ha förmåga att möta potentiella angripare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to re-establish total defense and that Sweden shall have the capacity to meet potential attackers.”
• total defense armed for war»Återupprätta ett totalförsvar som är rustat för krig« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Re-establish a total defense that is armed for war”
• equipment procurement»Satsa på uppgradering, nyanskaffning och vidmakthållande av materiel« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in upgrading, procurement and maintenance of equipment”

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.