Defense policy direction and total defense

The plan's defence doctrine is its own, popularly anchored defence that with maintained neutrality is continuously adapted to new international conditions, with universal conscription as a cornerstone. A strengthened total defence that deters others from attacking Swedish territory follows from the non-aligned line. The plan warns simultaneously against increased militarisation, which makes the conclusion uncertain.

• own defence adapted continuouslydecisive»försvaret ska med bibehållen neutralitet fortlöpande anpassas till« (party programme ↗)“defence shall with maintained neutrality be continuously adapted to”
• popularly anchored conscription»Allmän värnplikt måste gälla såväl kvinnor som män.« (party programme ↗)“Universal conscription must apply to both women and men.”
• non-alignment»vi är det enda riksdagspartiet som konsekvent värnar och vill återupprätta svensk alliansfrihet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“we are the only parliamentary party that consistently upholds and wants to restore Swedish non-alignment”
• against increased militarisation»Vänsterpartiet anser att Sverige ska vara en röst för fred och rättvisa, inte för ökad militarisering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party considers that Sweden should be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarisation.”

Worldstate weighed in: Russia's invasion of Ukraine and deteriorated security situation in the region — Makes an own, non-aligned total defence with real sustainability more urgent than the plan foresaw.

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 establishes that the pace of defence build-up shall increase further, that a strong people's defence shall be built and that appropriations shall reach two per cent of GDP, while civil defence is also upgraded. The counter-proposal's demand for a strong, popularly rooted total defence with such strength and durability that attacks are deterred is the same commitment. The plan links this explicitly to defending the democratic social order.

• increased build-up pacedecisive»Takten i upprustningen ska öka ytterligare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The pace of defence build-up shall increase further.”
• strong people's defence»Sverige behöver bygga ett starkt folkförsvar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs to build a strong people's defence.”
• two per cent of GDP»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 per cent of GDP.”
• defence of democracy»I grunden handlar vårt militära försvar om att värna vår egen demokratiska samhällsordning.« (party programme ↗)“At its foundation, our military defence is about safeguarding our own democratic social order.”

The party programme states that military readiness should aim at international operations and maintaining knowledge, and that no nation can threaten itself into security; the election manifesto wants to move a larger share of defence funds to civil defence. The counter-proposal's requirement for military and civil defence with such strength as to deter others from attacking is a deterrence doctrine that the plan does not support, even though it wants to increase preparedness for crises.

• limited purpose for military readinessdecisive»Vår militära beredskap ska syfta till att kunna« (party programme ↗)“Our military readiness shall aim at being able”
• no to deterrence logic»Ingen nation kan hota sig till säkerhet eller« (party programme ↗)“No nation can threaten itself into security or”
• civil before military defence»satsa en större andel av försvarets pengar på det civila försvaret, och öka anslagen till krisberedskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“allocate a larger share of defence funds to civil defence and increase appropriations for crisis preparedness.”
• increased preparedness for crises»Sverige måste höja beredskapen för att möta den nya tidens hot.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden must increase preparedness to meet the threats of the new era.”

The plan makes the defence of Sweden a central commitment: military defence shall be rapidly and sustainably armed to two per cent of GDP, civil defence shall be armed, and Sweden shall be armed so that no one can take our democratic society from us. The counter-proposal's demand for strong overall defence with such strength and endurance that it deters others from attack is therefore the plan's own line.

• two per cent and rearmamentdecisive»Sverige ska försvaras. Vi vill rusta det militära försvaret snabbt, kraftfullt och långsiktigt. Sverige behöver satsa två procent av BNP på försvaret så snart det är praktiskt möjligt och gå med i Nato.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall be defended. We want to arm military defence rapidly, powerfully and sustainably. Sweden needs to spend two per cent of GDP on defence as soon as practically possible and join NATO.”
• defence of democracy»Sverige måste rustas snabbt och fokuserat; ingen ska kunna ta vårt demokratiska samhälle ifrån oss.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden must be armed swiftly and in a focussed manner; no one shall be able to take our democratic society from us.”
• civil defence armed»Även det civila försvaret är livsviktigt. Vi måste rusta civilförsvaret och samhällets beredskap inför krig och kris.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Civil defence is also vital. We must arm civil defence and society's preparedness for war and crisis.”
• territorial defence capacity»Sverige måste därför kunna försvara sitt eget territorium.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden must therefore be able to defend its own territory.”

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 states that Sweden needs considerably stronger military defence and requires two percent of GDP for defence as early as 2025, with civil defence strengthened at the same pace. The counter-proposal's requirement for strong total defence with such strength, preparedness and endurance that others are deterred from attack is essentially the same thing. That more gun-bearing citizens shall undergo basic military training meets the requirement for popular rootedness.

• considerably stronger defencedecisive»Sverige behöver ett betydligt starkare militärt försvar än i dag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs considerably stronger military defence than today.”
• two percent for defence»Vi vill därför redan 2025 se ett försvarsanslag om 2 procent av BNP och därmed skapa tillräckliga förutsättningar att stärka både armen, marinen och flygvapnet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We therefore want to see a defence budget of 2 percent of GDP as early as 2025 and thus create sufficient prerequisites to strengthen the army, the navy and the air force.”
• popular rootedness in defence»För att stärka Sveriges samlade försvarsförmåga ska fler vapenföra än i dag genomgå en grundläggande militär utbildning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To strengthen Sweden's combined defence capability, more gun-bearing citizens than today shall undergo basic military training.”
• increased national defence capability»Sveriges nationella försvarsförmåga måste öka.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's national defence capability must increase.”

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 counter-proposal wants military and civil defence together to have such strength, readiness and endurance that others are prevented from attacking Swedish territory, and for the total defence to be strengthened as protection for democracy. The party programme explicitly requires that the armed forces can act as a deterrent during security policy crises in the near region, that defence is popularly rooted through universal defence obligation and that civil defence forms complement the military. The demand thus directly addresses the plan.

• deterrent capacitydecisive»kan verka krigsavhållande vid säkerhetspolitiska kriser« (party programme ↗)“can act as a deterrent during security policy crises”
• popularly rooted total defence»Alla svenska medborgare ska omfattas av en total« (party programme ↗)“All Swedish citizens shall be covered by a total”
• civil complement to defence»Civilmotstånd och andra alternativa försvarsformer ska vara ett komplement till det militära försvaret« (party programme ↗)“Civil resistance and other alternative defence forms shall be a complement to military defence”
• comprehensive view of security policy»Sveriges säkerhetspolitik ska präglas av samarbete, förutseende och helhetslösningar« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's security policy shall be characterized by cooperation, foresight and comprehensive solutions”

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 plan's stated goal is a war-deterrent defence that deters an attacker, achieved through powerful investments in both military and civilian defence that go in step, with defence spending at two per cent of GDP already in 2025 and adaptation to NATO membership. The counter-proposal's demand that total defence has such strength, preparedness and endurance that others are deterred from attacking is in practice the same commitment. The demand is supported.

• war-deterrent defencedecisive»Målet är att det svenska försvaret ska vara krigsavhållande och avskräcka en eventuell motståndare från att angripa Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The goal is that Swedish defence shall be war-deterrent and deter a potential opponent from attacking Sweden.”
• unified total defence»Sammantaget krävs kraftfulla satsningar på såväl det militära som det civila försvaret och att dessa satsningar går i takt för att skapa ett fungerande totalförsvar som stärker Sveriges säkerhet på bred front.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Overall, powerful investments in both military and civilian defence are needed and these investments must go in step to create a functioning total defence that strengthens Sweden's security on a broad front.”
• increased defence spending»Verka för att försvarsanslagen uppgår till motsvarande 2 procent av BNP redan år 2025« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work towards defence spending amounting to corresponding to 2 per cent of GDP already in 2025”
• adaptation to NATO»Förbereda försvaret för svenskt Natomedlemskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prepare defence for Swedish NATO membership”

flags: citat_migrerat

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 counter-proposal wants military and civil defence together to have such strength, readiness and endurance that others are deterred from attacking Swedish territory. The plan specifies exactly this goal: a defence capability that deters war and a restored total defence with long-term financing of at least two per cent of GDP. The plan also emphasizes popular support through the Home Guard and voluntary organizations.

• war-deterring defencedecisive»Målet är en krigsavhållande försvarsförmåga med kapacitet att möta främmande aggressioner, men som också kan bistå samhället i kris eller oro.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The goal is a defence capability that deters war with capacity to meet foreign aggression, but which can also assist society in crisis or unrest.”
• restored total defence»Sverigedemokraterna vill återupprätta totalförsvaret och att Sverige ska ha förmåga att möta potentiella angripare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to restore total defence and Sweden shall have the capability to meet potential aggressors.”
• long-term defence financing»Sverigedemokraterna vill säkerställa långsiktig finansiering av försvaret om minst två procent av BNP inom en tioårsperiod.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to ensure long-term financing of defence of at least two per cent of GDP over a ten-year period.”
• popularly rooted defence»Sverigedemokraterna vill också stärka Hemvärnet och frivilligorganisationer som utgör viktiga komponenter för försvarsviljan och civilsamhällets uthållighet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats also want to strengthen the Home Guard and voluntary organizations which constitute important components for defence will and civil society's endurance.”

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.