The construction of knowledge and expertise in civil preparedness

This project aims to contribute new knowledge on the capacity of the Swedish civil defence to prepare and respond to threats of both war and peacetime crises.

An overarching hypothesis of the project is that a new understanding of contemporary and future threats is emerging, which renders a civil defence dimensioned to tackle both military threats and crises relevant again.

This brings new relevance to the expertise, policy and suggestions that were produced in the late 20th century that supported precisely such capacities.

The actors and processes that were driving the development of expertise and policy in the Swedish civil defence from 1980 to 2002 will be investigated.

The purpose of the project is to explore: 1) The expertise that was developed concerning “severe pressures” and ”complex threats” in the Swedish civil defence. 2) Structures for transferring knowledge between research actors and state agencies in the Swedish psychological defence. 3) Knowledge produced to secure supplies of essential industrial goods produced by or commissioned by the Swedish Agency for Civil Emergency Planning (ÖCB).

Through doing so, the project will contribute to the capacity of current Swedish authorities to assess and utilise expertise of the Swedish civil defence of the latter 20th century, in the process of reconstructing the Swedish civil defence today.