Research projects
Here you can find more information about ongoing research projects at the Swedish Defence University.
Research projects
- Defence and society
- The practice of war
- Leadership and collaboration for Sweden's total defence
- Military police - meaning and professional identity in a changing security environment
- Soft norm governance through value-based work
- Malign information influence as a cognitive threat
- Evaluating gender integration efforts in the Swedish Armed Forces
- Revisiting feminist perspectives on peace, (in)security and war
- Fighting for a feminist future: Women's mobilization in post-conflict and complex security environments
- Eira X - forward logistics on the transparent battlefield
Stories
From trade to security – US China policy has become geopolitics
The United State's economic relationship with China has entered a new and more uncertain phase. At the same time, rivalry between the two great powers has become a structural feature of US foreign and security policy. This applies regardless of who occupies the White House, according to a new study from the Swedish Defence University.
Understanding war beyond the battlefield
For more than 20 years, Victoria Basham has studied how societies prepare for war and how people make sense of that preparation in their everyday lives. Her research moves beyond strategy and doctrine, focusing instead on lived experience, identity and meaning.
Destructive leadership is sustained by norms and silence
Destructive leadership is not solely about the behaviour of individual managers. New research from the Swedish Defence University shows that norms and organisational culture often contribute to the emergence and persistence of destructive patterns.
Rebel-led relief efforts heightened conflict risks
When the cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar in May 2023, a rebel group played a central role in the disaster response. The efforts brought relief and strengthened the group's local legitimacy, but also paved the way for renewed fighting, shows new research from the Swedish Defence University.
New solutions for front-line logistics
Hello there, Roland Hellberg, Senior Lecturer in war studies. You are part of the project Eira X – Forward logistics on the transparent battlefield , which has received a grant of SEK 2.9 million from Vinnova.
“We need to create exercises that actually lead to learning”
Erik Hedlund, Professor at the Department of Leadership and Command & Control, has in recent years focused his research on how civilian and military actors cooperate in exercises. His studies show that these exercises need fundamental change if they are to produce results.
Understanding war to make a difference
Erik Melander has spent more than 30 years researching war and armed conflict, from Bosnia and Nagorno-Karabakh to South Africa, Thailand and Ukraine. As a newly appointed professor at the Swedish Defence University, he combines deep academic expertise with a strong commitment to Sweden’s total defence and to international support for Ukraine.
Exploring the dynamics of collaboration
Per Becker has worked with issues relating to crisis management, risk and total defence for virtually his entire career – in Sweden, internationally and in the field. Since 1 July 2025 he has been a professor at the Department of Leadership and Command & Control at the Swedish Defence University, following a year as a visiting professor.
The geopolitical history of the Baltic Sea in a new light
For centuries, the Baltic Sea has been an arena for both conflict and cooperation. The new anthology The Baltic Sea – A Geopolitical History shows how the sea has shaped, and continues to shape, the political, economic and strategic relations between the countries of northern Europe.
SEK 4.9 million from the Swedish Research Council for new research project on defence willingness
Defence willingness is a concept frequently highlighted as crucial to total defence, yet it still lacks clear definitions. A new research project at the Swedish Defence University has now been awarded SEK 4.9 million from the Swedish Research Council to examine what defence willingness actually is, how it can be measured, and which factors influence it.