Förändrad tid, förändrat försvar  : Diskursiv institutionalism som utgångspunkt

The purpose of this study is to examine if a change in the defence policy discourse could be perceived during the time for the Swedish military reform during the 1990’s. A reform that later effected the Swedish Armed Forces’ capacity to defend the nation. The method of the study is based on discursive institutionalism, and mainly on Vivien Schmidt’s former research about institutionalism. The method contains a discourse analysis in combination with an idea analysis, which include ideal types of realism and liberalism and their view on international relations. The analytical framework is focusing on cognitive and normative ideas, which can be found on three levels of generality, policy ideas, programmatic ideas and philosophical ideas. The material that is used for the analysis are the Swedish defence bills during the time period 1987 to 2009 and the analysis is describing ideas in the defence policy discourse. The results indicate that the worldview shifted towards a more liberal view on international relations in the defence bill of 1992, but it was not until the defence bill of 1996 that problem definitions and solutions started to change in the same direction. The other defence bills have since then continued on the same path. The conclusion is that the changed worldview made it possible to change focus from national security to common security, which affected the policy solutions regarding the Swedish Armed Forces