Adapting to a new security environment or policy failure : the Swedish debate on abolishing then reinstating National Service within the Armed Forces

In 2009 the Swedish parliament decided to enforce a professional army with serving soldiers and seamen as many other Western European states had done in the aftermaths of the Cold War. However, only seven years later the Government decided to reactivate the laws enabling the possibility to enlist young men and women to the Armed Forces, once again constituting National Service. The purpose of this essay is to shed light on this rather rapid decision to amend the terms and conditions stated for the Armed Forces on how to recruit and man the battle units. This is conducted by analysing the arguments made by the leading political parties in Government and Opposition in relation to two possible explanation models. Firstly, is this a consequence of the rapid changes in the security situation in Europé? Or is this simply a policy failure based on domestic challenges i defence reform. This survey have categorised the arguments made by Sweden´s leading parties describing the relations in both theese major decisions