Civil-militära relationer - förutsättningar för samverkan

Sammanfattning: Civil-military relations – conditions for cooperation Abstract:   Civil-military cooperation is a branch of current interest, both in studies and research. The importance has also increased after the government´s demands in a more developed and efficient coordination of national contribution to international peace support operations. Several studies show that there is a lack of ability to cooperate between different levels of command and other actors. The Swedish tradition of state administration is strong and the responsibility to cooperate lies within the hands of the different authorities. Therefore, the relationship between central authorities is of utmost importance when it comes to create conditions for civil-military cooperation. The purpose with this essay is to describe the civil-military relationship at the central level in order to better understand conditions for coordination. For starting point, the study will use a theory where the civil-military relations are of utmost importance for state conditions to make strategic assessments. In the essay, three processes are examined and compared between three central governmental authorities from official directives and guidance, reports and interviews. The result show that the relationship between authorities is characterised by mutual will and engagement to enhance conditions to cooperate but is limited by cultural reasons, own interests, lack of knowledge in each other’s organizations and a need for improved governmental directions and guidance.