Militära och civila uppfattningar om svenska militärer och deras medverkan i internationella insatser

With the starting point in UN peacekeeping operations, this essay investigates the participation of the Swedish armed forces and how the Swedish soldiers perceive their role in those operations. The aim of the study was to explore different perceptions about the Swedish soldiers in international operations. Partly from the Swedish soldiers perspective and how they perceived their own role as soldiers. Partly from the perspective of civilians, like Swedish aid workers, and how they perceive the Swedish soldiers. The third perspective was from a person with mixed experiences from both the military and the civilian work. The aim was also to investigate the discrepancy between the perceptions and its consequences. The method used was interviews with six informants, both soldiers and civilians. The interviews were based on three subjects: soldiers and civilians, men and women as soldiers, and soldiers from Sweden compared to soldiers from other countries. The result showed that there is a discrepancy between different perceptions and that a broader understanding was given from the informant who had the experience from both military and civilian work in international operations. This can lead to the assumption that it is preferable to have more experience from different roles. The abolishment of the compulsory military service may inhibit this broader perspective in the Swedish military