The project focuses on the concept of defence willingness to defend and aims to determine what it actually encompasses, how it is best measured, and which factors influence it.
Although defence willingness is increasingly highlighted in both political and military contexts, it remains unclear what the concept truly includes, how it is most effectively measured, and which factors shape it. The project therefore brings together experts from the countries around the Baltic Sea to jointly develop clearer definitions and improved methods of measurement.
These new measures will then be tested through survey studies in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The studies will also examine how relatively unexplored factors – such as personality types, moral reasoning and views on what is genuinely worth defending – influence people’s defence willingness.
Project leader: Ralph Sundberg
Responsible Department
Department of War Studies
Partners
Uppsala University
Financing
Swedish Research Council
Ongoing
2026-2028