Det försämrade säkerhetsläget i Europa, med pågående krig i Sveriges närområde och förskjutningar i stormaktsrelationer och allianssystem, aktualiserar frågor om medborgarnas förtroende för de institutioner som ansvarar för landets säkerhet. Med data från den nationella SOM-undersökningen analyseras förtroendet för försvaret, Hemvärnetoch Nato samt inställningen till det svenska Nato-medlemskapet. Förtroendet för försvaret ökar för sjätte året i rad till de högsta nivåerna sedan mätningarna inleddes 1986. Ökningen efter Rysslands invasion av Ukraina 2022 är brett förankrad – men ideologiska och socioekonomiska skillnader kvarstår, vilket tyder på en normaliserad snarare än krisbetingad opinionsbildning. Hemvärnet inkluderas för första gången och åtnjuter relativt högt förtroende, men många svarande saknar tydlig uppfattning om organisationen. Vad gäller Nato-medlemskapet anser en majoritet att medlemskapet var rätt beslut, men andelen kritiska har ökat med 17 procentenheter sedan 2022. Kapitlet belyser hur bred förtroendeökning kan samexistera med kvarstående ambivalens i den svenska försvarsopinionen.

Veterans returning from military service often struggle to translate their occupational experiences into recognized civilian employment skills, despite possessing valuable competencies. This study examines how Swedish veterans from international overseas deployments navigate this transition, using qualitative data from in-depth interviews and reflective writings with 33 participants. Grounded in Donald Sch & ouml;n's theory of the reflective practitioner, the research frames veterans' career transitions as reflective processes involving navigation of uncertain professional territories. The study investigates how veterans demonstrate the value of their military experiences, how employers perceive these skills, and the societal narratives shaping transition outcomes. Despite possessing competencies in leadership, adaptability, and cross-cultural communication, veterans frequently encounter misconceptions that obscure their professional value. Four key themes emerge: situation contextualization (adapting skills to new environments), flexible performance (and self-efficacy), cross-cultural communication (empathic approach), and initiative-taking (inventing space for action). These themes illustrate how veterans create meaning and agency in civilian work environments through reflective practice. The findings reframe veterans as competent resources rather than vulnerable subjects, offering practical insights for employers seeking diverse talent, policymakers developing transition programs, and veterans themselves navigating career changes. This research contributes to understanding skill transferability and professional identity transformation in post-military careers.

This paper examines the dynamics of counterterror police tactics in both predictable and unpredictable scenarios, emphasizing the need for distinct approaches in each context. It focuses on how tactics can be adapted in agile ways when faced with unpredictability in high-stakes grey zone environments. Employing an epistemological analysis rooted in the philosophy of professional knowledge and combined with perspectives from cognitive science, the study draws on participatory observation research of Sweden's national counterterror intervention unit. The findings indicate that traditional methods of pre-determining the best course of action can be ineffective in uncertain situations. Instead, the research advocates for tactical improvisation and the acceptance of 'progressive mistakes', allowing for adaptive decision-making in complex environments. The study concludes that rather than striving for perfect solutions, engaging in practices that acknowledge the potential for error is crucial. This approach, referred to as 'doing the wrong thing right', underscores the importance of professional judgment and tactical flexibility in counter-terrorism operations, contributing valuable insights to discussions about tactical decisionmaking.

This study aims to contribute to our knowledge of civil-military collaboration within the framework of contemporary Swedish total defence planning and organizing. The exploratory study focuses on perspectives on collaboration among civilian and military actors at the local and regional levels of the Swedish total defence network. Empirically, the study draws on official documents, policies, reports and interviews with civilian and military officials in Sweden. The analysis explores assumptions about, and understandings of, roles, relationships, shared goals, responsibilities and governance, pointing to several potential challenges to inter-organizational and inter-group collaboration. The study, showing how understandings and perspectives held by collaborators serve to shape the nature of their relations, identifies a potential need for collaborative actors, civil and military, capable of performing a “double grasp” – that is, of representing their organization while understanding and handling their counterpart’s perspective on (and often lack of knowledge about) their own organization and requirements. The article identifies several avenues for future research into civil-military collaboration in practice, and across country contexts.

In Swedish military policy, the concept of kompetens (competence) describes the skills and capability of military personnel. Furthermore, “competence-in-use,” a multidimensional conceptual tool, has been used for decades in Swedish military instruction and training without having ever been empirically proven. In this pilot study, designed as an exploratory case study, we will try to connect theory to practice by examining the actual situations in which military competence is used. This article has two aims: First, to examine the relevance of the concept of competence-in-use in Swedish military practice abroad, and second, to combine and evaluate two methods in an exploratory case study. To capture firsthand experiences of real combat situations, we selected a sample of 28 firsthand narratives from Swedish service members. Our mapping identifies the blurred transition between combat and noncombat situations. By way of conclusion, we suggest that our analysis tool is further tested, for example, in comparative studies between nations.

Ett effektivt totalförsvar är beroende av väl fungerande samverkan mellan olika aktörer. Idag används begreppet samverkan som ett magiskt ord. I visioner och regelverk beskrivs samverkan både som en nyckel till framgång och en lösning på komplexa problem. Men hur går samverkan till i praktiken?

I boken berättar rutinerade aktörer från totalförsvarets olika delar om sina erfarenheter av samverkan. Här finns konkreta exempel där yrkesverksamma beskriver hur de ställts inför svåra utmaningar, överväganden och beslut inom ramarna för olika former av krishantering. Uppdrag Samverkan – om konsten att samarbeta när det gäller bygger på ett forskningsprojekt, ”Erfarenhetsforum Samverkan” som under åren 2019–2022 bedrivits vid Centrum för studier av militär och samhälle.