Sweden's Civil Defence Forum 2026: Carl-Oskar Bohlin and Pål Jonson to Speak

I spoke with The Australian Financial Review’s Ronald Mizen about where the Australian Government should prioritise defence spending if a much-needed increase is realised. While there are a number of capability gaps, one stands out as particularly urgent given the backdrop of recent conflicts, including the current Middle East crisis. As I noted in the piece, defence is unlikely to receive everything it wants, but there are several areas that require priority investment. At the top of that list is air and missile defence, followed by sustainable logistics and mine warfare capabilities. “Australia is never going to have a golden dome. Australia is a continent. It will never have the ability to protect every single piece of Australia. But the ability to have effective integrated air and missile defence around key bases and critical infrastructure—whether water plants or energy infrastructure—will be vitally important.” Full article below. https://lnkd.in/gsC3nK_F Barrier Strategic Advisory UWA Defence and Security Institute Lowy Institute ANU National Security College UNSW Canberra

As Europe debates strategic autonomy and increased defence spending, the EU’s €150 billion SAFE initiative has emerged as a key instrument for strengthening the continent’s defence industrial base. Yet the programme also exposes persistent tensions in post-Brexit security cooperation. This new policy brief from the Eastern European and Transatlantic Network explores the structural limits of UK–EU defence collaboration, examining how regulatory barriers, industrial competition, and political mistrust continue to shape cooperation between London and Brussels. Read Liam Nohr's full policy brief here: https://lnkd.in/eH7xkk4R

I’m pleased to share a paper I co-authored with my colleague Lorenzo Conti on enhancing engagement between civilian CSDP missions and civil society. Strengthening these connections can significantly improve human security outcomes in mission theatres and can often be achieved with relatively limited resources, as demonstrated by the best-practice examples presented in the report.

Happy to share a new paper Dearbhaile O'Callaghan and I co-wrote, looking at connections between civil society and civilian CSDP missions. It includes some concrete ideas on how to strengthen engagement, which can be very beneficial to the missions' impact, local ownership and overall human security objectives. Please check the link below if you're interested!

Sweden have a long experience of working tight with civ-mil defence, what we in Sweden call ”Total Defence”. Both civil and military capabilities are crucial to be able to protect a country (also showed in Ukraine).

The most recent publication co-authored by IIRPS VU researcher Dr Justinas Lingevicius analyses the European Commission's Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, focusing on the understandings of defence it advances and the role of vertical logic in the Commission's evolving defence governance framework. Read the full publication here: https://bit.ly/3No1O7O

The European Parliament adopted a Resolution addressing barriers in the EU’s single market defence sector. It highlights: • A ‘buy-European’ approach to strengthen the EU’s defence industrial and technological base • Sufficient funding to support joint capability development and cross-border cooperation • A revision of defence procurement rules to improve efficiency • The need to preserve the integrity of the EU single market amid rising national defence spending. 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dNqbkJiz #CMSlaw #EULaw #Defence #EUDefence #EUSingleMarket

The UK will have to think about allocating its limited funds to support Gulf partners in the short term. British defence industry experts urged the Government to “ring fence” certain sovereign defence programmes. Government defence inertia has been ongoing despite the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer promising to spend more on defence. https://lnkd.in/e3zJmMSw

A compelling address from Jedidiah Royal, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, opened this week’s National Defense Industrial Association - (NDIA) #NDIAPOST26 conference in Honolulu this morning. Jed’s speech was laser-focussed on industrial base collaboration and a call to action for industry. Some key points: 🛠️If U.S. allies and partners deliver on their commitments to increased defence spending, an additional $210Bn will be spent on defence capabilities next year 🛠️ This spend will rise to a total of an additional $1.9Tn (!!!) of defence spending by U.S. allies and partners 🛠️ In the first instance, America’s priority is to see this funding injected into the reinvigoration of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (Sarah’s note - not convinced governments of allies and partners will agree… but then, Australia is putting a $5Bn or so down payment into the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base…) 🛠️ Urgently a Forward Industrial Base that is distributed and resilience across capacity, production and diversity of capability 🛠️ Partnership for IndoPacific Industrial Resilience is a priority and being implemented, 14 countries now in the consortium with 2 more to join imminently 🛠️ This is not just a market opportunity for industry - it is an opportunity to create the forward industrial base of the future to enable the warfighter and deliver deterrence In my webinar last week, I predicted that industrial base collaboration and mobilisation will be the key theme for defence industry in 2026 - hearing that message today in Honolulu. But also wondering if Australia will deliver this capability at the pace and scale necessary. LinkedIn Hivemind - can we do it? What would be needed in next iteration of Defence Indutry Development Strategy to deliver this? If you are at POST and want to catch up with Marc Pavillard, CSC or me, send a DM or comment 👇. Photo credit: NDIA

I’m often asked why we work on the topic of comprehensive defence, so it makes sense to start with what it actually means. The concept comes from Nordic security thinking during the Cold War. Its core idea is simple: defence is the responsibility of the entire society, not only the military. Alongside armed forces, civil defence also operates — involving the state, businesses, organizations, and citizens. A good example is Sweden’s total defence (totalförsvar). The system assumes that in wartime a country needs not only an army but also a society capable of maintaining critical systems, protecting civilians, and supporting defence efforts. Citizens aged 16–70 fall under total defence duty and may be required to perform defence-related roles: remain in critical workplaces (for example in energy or healthcare), assist with civilian tasks such as logistics or protection, or serve in volunteer defence structures. The framework of the system rests on three key goals: — ensuring that critical societal functions strengthen military defence; — protecting the civilian population; — maintaining the will to defend the country and strengthening societal resilience. The concept also recognizes that modern hybrid warfare does not take place only on the battlefield. Propaganda, information and cognitive warfare, cyberattacks, economic pressure, and interference in elections often precede or accompany military aggression. Therefore, every part of society — state institutions, businesses, and households — must understand its role in defence and how to act during crises. In Sweden, the system is coordinated by the Civil Contingencies Agency, while the Psychological Defence Agency focuses on countering hostile information influence and strengthening societal resilience. Similar approaches exist in several Nordic and Baltic countries — Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — as well as in countries like Singapore, Switzerland, and Israel. One limitation remains: Sweden has not experienced war for more than 200 years, so this model has not yet been fully tested in real wartime conditions. #GenderMainstreaming #ComprehensiveDefence