Military conscription

The plan wants to see a modern total defence built on universal conscription with broad capacity to meet different crises, which speaks for larger volumes rather than a narrow training volume. Raised daily allowance and a whistleblower function also follow from the plan's ongoing requirement for secure conditions and influence for those who perform the work. Resistance to militarization and arms race points in another direction, but is directed against rearmament and alliances, not against conscription's breadth.

• universal conscriptiondecisive»Vi vill se ett modernt totalförsvar byggt på allmän värnplikt, med en bred förmåga att möta olika former av kriser Sverige kan ställas inför.« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a modern total defence built on universal conscription, with a broad capacity to meet different forms of crises Sweden can face.”
• influence for those working»Vi vill gå i riktning mot ett samhälle där demokratiska processer genomsyrar hela samhället, även arbetsplatserna.« (party programme ↗)“We want to move in the direction of a society where democratic processes permeate the whole of society, including the workplace.”
• against increased militarization»Vänsterpartiet anser att Sverige ska vara en röst för fred och rättvisa, inte för ökad militarisering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party believes that Sweden should be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarization.”

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 and that increased defence appropriations shall result in, among other things, more conscripts within an expanded people's defence. The counter-proposal's demand for higher volume targets and faster build-up of conscription is thus the plan's own line, as are better conditions that strengthen conscripts' position.

• more conscriptsdecisive»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 converted into, among other things, more conscripts, modern equipment and strengthened military presence throughout the country.”
• faster build-up»Takten i upprustningen ska öka ytterligare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The pace of defence build-up shall increase further.”
• expanded people's defence»Svenskt folkförsvar med utbyggd värn- och civilplikt.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish people's defence with expanded conscription and civil defence.”
• 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 per cent of GDP.”

The plan's explicit position is that participation in military defence should as far as possible be based on voluntariness and that military service should be complemented with civil service, not substantially expanded. The plan also prioritizes that a larger share of defence resources goes to civil defence and crisis preparedness. The counter-proposal's demand for a long-term goal of 20,000 conscripts per year therefore goes against the plan's direction, even though the improved conditions for conscripts themselves are close to the party's view.

• voluntariness in military servicedecisive»Deltagande i det militära försvaret ska så långt som möjligt bygga på frivillighet.« (party programme ↗)“Participation in military defence should as far as possible be based on voluntariness.”
• prioritize civil 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 spending to civil defence, and increase allocations for crisis preparedness.”
• civil service as complement»Värnplikten ska kompletteras med en civilplikt för att stärka samhällets motståndskraft« (party programme ↗)“Military service should be complemented with civil service to strengthen society's resilience”
• defence should preserve peace»Syftet med vårt försvar är att bevara freden.« (party programme ↗)“The purpose of our defence is to preserve peace.”

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 military defense be strengthened quickly, forcefully and sustainably, and that two percent of GDP be spent on defense as soon as practically possible. A higher and earlier target for the number of conscripts is a direct expression of that ambition, as are better conditions that make more people complete their service. The plan however gives no volumes for conscription.

• rapid rearmament of defensedecisive»Sverige behöver satsa två procent av BNP på försvaret så snart det är praktiskt möjligt och gå med i Nato.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs to spend two percent of GDP on defense as soon as practically possible and join NATO.”
• strengthen defense capability»Centerpartiet vill rusta försvaret, stärka Sveriges civila beredskap och fullfölja inträdet i Nato.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Centre Party wants to strengthen defense, enhance Sweden's civil preparedness and complete entry into NATO.”
• own territorial defense»Sverige måste därför kunna försvara sitt eget territorium.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden must therefore be able to defend its own territory.”

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 election manifesto requires that more able-bodied persons than today undergo basic military training and that the number of conscripts in the war organization increases, and the party programme establishes that significantly more young people should be called to conscript service. A faster built and larger conscript intake is precisely what the plan calls for. However, the plan specifies no volume figures and says nothing about daily allowance or whistleblower function.

• more shall be trained militarilydecisive»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 able-bodied persons than today shall undergo basic military training.”
• significantly more conscripts»Upprustningen av totalförsvaret gör det befogat att väsentligt fler unga kommer att kallas in till militär eller civil plikttjänstgöring.« (party programme ↗)“The rearmament of total defence makes it justified that significantly more young people will be called to military or civil conscript service.”
• growing war organization»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 provided, and civil defence strengthened at the same pace as the military.”
• gender-neutral conscription»Det är viktigt att värnplikten och civilplikten är könsneutral.« (party programme ↗)“It is important that conscription and civil conscription are gender-neutral.”

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 sees conscription as the way to popular anchorage and fully staffed units and requires that the Armed Forces has such strength and readiness that it acts as a war deterrent, with sufficient resources for total defense. Significantly increased conscription volumes and better conditions for conscripts follow from these commitments. That the intake according to the plan shall be determined based on the defense's tasks and threat pictures makes a fixed numerical target less certain.

• fully staffed unitsdecisive»Värnplikt är ett bra sätt att uppnå folklig förankring och fullt bemannade förband.« (party programme ↗)“Conscription is a good way to achieve popular anchorage and fully staffed units.”
• war-deterrent capability»Försvarsmakten ska ha en sådan styrka, sammansättning, beredskap och« (party programme ↗)“The Armed Forces shall have such strength, composition, readiness and”
• adequate defense resources»Det samlade totalförsvaret måste ha tillräckliga resurser för att kunna garantera« (party programme ↗)“The total defense system must have adequate resources to be able to guarantee”
• intake based on defense needs»vilka som ska tas ut för utbildning i fred ska avgöras utifrån försvarets uppgifter och« (party programme ↗)“who shall be selected for training in peace shall be determined based on the defense's tasks and”

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 wants defence spending to reach two per cent of GDP as early as 2025 and for the Army, Air Force and Navy to be strengthened in both capacity and materiel, with the goal that defence shall be able to deter war. A faster build-up of conscription with substantially more trained per year is the personnel side of the same rearmament. The plan does, however, not specify volumes or compensation levels.

• increased defence spendingdecisive»Verka för att försvarsanslagen uppgår till motsvarande 2 procent av BNP redan år 2025« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work towards defence spending amounting to the equivalent of 2 per cent of GDP as early as 2025”
• stronger defence branches(2022 manifesto)
• defence that can deter war»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 able to deter war and dissuade a potential adversary from attacking Sweden.”
• adaptation to NATO»Förbereda försvaret för svenskt Natomedlemskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prepare defence for Swedish NATO membership”

flags: citat_migrerat, 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 plan wants to re-establish a total defence equipped for war and ensure personnel supply through a mix of professional soldiers and conscripts, with at least two per cent of GDP in defence spending. Faster build-up of conscription volumes and better conditions for conscripts follow from that commitment and from the principle that anyone who enjoys the country's freedom should also defend it. Exact volume targets are not specified in the plan, so the conclusion is derived.

• värnplikt i personalförsörjningendecisive»Personalförsörjningen inom försvaret behöver säkerställas genom en blandning av yrkessoldater och värnpliktiga.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Personnel supply within defence needs to be ensured through a mix of professional soldiers and conscripts.”
• två procent av BNP»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 within a ten-year period.”
• återupprättat totalförsvar»Återupprätta ett totalförsvar som är rustat för krig« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Re-establish a total defence equipped for war”
• allmän försvarsplikt»Den som åtnjuter ett lands frihet skall också vara beredd att försvara denna frihet.« (party programme ↗)“He who enjoys a country's freedom shall also be prepared to defend this freedom.”

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.