SWEDEN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Erik Olsson, Christian Hybbinette and Daniel Lundqvist, Kahn Pedersen
Sweden: Where Total Defence Is a Matter for the Entire Population Introduction to the Swedish concept of “total defence” The opening provision of the Total Defence Service Act – the statute under which individual citizens may be required to serve in the armed forces – states: “Total defence is a matter for the entire population.” This concise statutory statement captures how Swe - den approaches both national defence and defence law. The same spirit runs through many of the near - ly 50 legal instruments that together form the legal framework for Sweden’s total defence. One of the principal statutes in this field, the Total Defence and Heightened Readiness Act, defines total defence as all activities necessary to prepare Swe - den for war, whether undertaken by public or private actors and whether military or civilian in nature. In short, Sweden’s total defence is, in both practical and legal terms, a matter of public concern in which all actors sustaining essential societal functions – public and private alike – are expected to participate and assume responsibility. The military component of Sweden’s total defence fol - lows a traditional hierarchical structure. Command - er-in-Chief Michael Claesson is the highest-ranking officer and reports only to the government. The civil component of total defence has a consid - erably more complex organisational structure. Civil defence is divided into 12 sectors which, collectively, are intended to cover the societal functions Sweden requires for an effective defence. These sectors are: • economic security; • electronic communications and postal services; • energy supply; • financial services; • the provision of basic data; • health, healthcare and social services;
• transport; and • foreign trade.
Each sector has a designated sector-responsible authority, together with a number of so-called emer - gency preparedness authorities. These authorities are responsible for leading efforts to strengthen total defence capabilities within their respective sectors, both within the authorities themselves and among other public and private actors. The form this work takes varies depending on the authority responsible for the sector. Matters gov - erned by legislation or regulation in one sector may be addressed through soft law or voluntary agreements in another. A significant amount of preparedness work is also cross-sectoral. Taken together, these features can make it difficult to obtain a clear overview of both the legal framework and the administrative structure of Sweden’s total defence. The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency therefore has an overarching role in co-ordi - nating the civil defence system, and regularly issues guidance and other support to assist public authori - ties and private entities with their total defence work. “Just in Time” Is Too Late The peacetime mission of total defence is as easy to state as it is difficult to carry out. Actors operating within any of the 12 preparedness sectors must, indi - vidually and collectively, take the measures and under - take the planning necessary to make the functions critical to total defence in each sector more robust and resilient in the event of an invasion of Swedish territory or acts of war in neighbouring countries. In addition to the basic requirements for each entity to establish a wartime organisation, conduct a risk and vulnerability analysis, and regularly undertake scenario-based exercises, this also entails preparing a so-called supply analysis. In such an analysis, enti - ties identify the dependencies on which their ability to continue operating would rely under conditions of severe trade disruption. In practice, this means ensur - ing that they can maintain their operations – at least at a basic level – even without relying on resources located outside Sweden.
• industry, construction and trade; • food supply and drinking water; • public order and security; • emergency services and civil protection;
180 D EFENCE CON TRACTS 2 026
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