Societal Anchoring in Liberal Democracies : an Expression for Democratic Control of the Military or the Foundation of National Security?

In the wake of a deteriorating security situation in Europe, after the Russian annexation of Crimea, a change is noticed in the Swedish debate on defence policy. The tendency to use the traditional Swedish concept of societal anchoring, Folkförankring, have increased without a clear definition of the concept. Despite this ambiguity, societal anchoring and a public will to defend, Försvarsvilja, is considered crucial for the defence of Sweden. The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of these concepts with regard to national security. The concepts are investigated using a qualitative analysis of Swedish political policy documents and military doctrine within the framework of civil-military relations theory. The finding of this thesis is that societal anchoring, cannot be satisfyingly explained by traditional theories of democratic control. The concept is also used as a driver for increased societal resilience and participation in the total defence manifested in a will to defend the nation. Apart from traditional civil-military relation and theories of democratic control, the target for political measures is not the military, but the public citizen. The findings are understandable within a liberal democracy since a reduced individual freedom need to be legitimated. Sustaining liberal values, the public is adjusted to a new defence policy by legitimising a reinstated draft, increased individual responsibility and a shift toward a more militarized society.