’Aktiva åtgärder’ i en ny tid : En studie om rysk informationspåverkan och svenskt bemötande

Information is power in the 21st century. The on-going “information revolution” has forced states to adapt to the new world arena and to the following demand of being able to use information strategically. This study aimed to contribute to the lack of research regarding the Swedish case, and thus give a greater understanding of how Sweden tackles information warfare campaigns. The study examined two cases: The host-nation-agreement between Sweden and NATO (2016) and the Swedish military exercise, Aurora 17 (2017). The study applied a qualitative analytical method to: firstly, identify the Swedish strategic narrative by using governmental policy documents; secondly, identify the Russian intrusive narrative by looking at two cases using editorial articles of RT and Sputnik International, and finally analyze the Swedish way of handling the intrusive narrative, using an ideal type analysis method. The study confirmed that Russia, through state-owned media, intervened and tried to undermine the Swedish strategic narrative in both cases. The study concluded that Sweden’s strategy to counter these actions is moving from a previously passive approach – to a more antagonistic approach towards the sender of the intruding narrative. However, the study also concluded that Sweden is lacking a coherent strategy to handling these kinds of threats.