The Swedish defense renaissance, driven by external threats, has convinced too many people that the country’s total defense policy merely needs resources to be reestablished.
The rearmament drive focuses on systems, technicalities, and a willingness to radically increase the budget to a resource-starved military and defense industry that has played Cinderella for more than 30 years. It is a natural reaction, but is it the most urgent first step?
In reality, it doesn’t matter whether Sweden’s defense budget is 1%, 2% or 3% of GDP if the population is unwilling to fight for society, democracy, and self-governance. That requires societal cohesion and a genuine and individually accepted understanding of what is at stake.
The foundation of a total defense strategy lies in values, norms, and insights primarily conveyed by the family and the school. Tellingly, the Swedish government summary of its total defense policy does not mention the education of young people.
Today, Swedes live in a society that has been sheltered from the brutality of the outside world for decades.
At the same time, schools are struggling with declining academic results and a growing focus on what divides rather than what unites.
It is good to understand society’s flaws so that young people can envision future efforts to heal them — but first, one must understand what society represents and stands for. Historically speaking, today’s society is exceptionally well-developed; all adults have the right to vote, have access to healthcare and elder care, resources for people with disabilities, and every adult is free to run for office to lead parts of society. You can speak your mind without fear of reprisals. Over the past 150 years, society has become both wealthier and more equal, which sets it apart from the totalitarian forces that pose the current threat.
The schools are not a propaganda machine, but without insight into what society stands for, it becomes impossible to see the difference between a derailed totalitarian Russia driven by fascists whose only interest is to exploit the weaknesses of the outside world.
It can even appear attractive when Russian influence operations fuel xenophobia and division, aiming to fracture society and push populist messages to sever the loyalty of right-wing citizens to their own society, while simultaneously feeding antisemitism and conspiracy theories to the far left. This also erodes cohesion among the broader population as the educated citizen becomes endangered in a failing school system.
In the end, when diplomacy, deterrence, and countermeasures have failed, defense is a practical activity involving sanctioned violence to break an attacker’s will to continue the assault.
What makes people willing to risk their lives and potentially kill an opponent who refuses to end their attack, as a last resort to defend a society and its people? Context. Understanding. Perspective. Conviction.
None of this can be bought. There is no market for the will to defend, steadfastness, and fighting spirit. It is an inner journey and an acceptance built during one’s upbringing and matured in adulthood.
During the Cold War, Sweden’s strength did not lie in an air force dispersed along road bases, bomb shelters, air defense radar controllers, and mobilization depots. It lay in the conviction and understanding of what needed to be done and what was at stake.
In 1981, when Swedish Prime Minister Fälldin said “hold the border” when a Soviet naval group was closing in to rescue the grounded Soviet U-137 submarine that had encroached into territorial waters, there was no discussion or soul searching among Swedish reservists and active soldiers. They were ready to fight.
The soldiers and officers involved knew what might need to be done, their role, and the personal risks that entailed. Credible total defense is each individual’s understanding and willingness to defend.
Talk of a new total defense policy, in tandem with rearmament (now a huge program set to reach 3.1% of GDP by 2028 and including an 18% rise in defense spending for 2026 alone) will never become reality as long as young people leave public school without understanding the value of freedom, democracy, and the strength of the societal order jointly formulated through parliament by the people.
Citizens who do not see the value of an open society and self-governance will not fight and risk their lives and futures to defend it. That failure to explain what is at stake is a curse on any society, and must be rectified.
Jan Kallberg, Ph.D., LL.M., is a Senior Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He served as a reserve light infantry officer, platoon, and company commander in the Royal Swedish Army during the Cold War.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
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