“Det är ju egentligen bara mobbning men det bygger den här kamratskapen”. En kvalitativ studie om hur manliga soldater uppfattar den personliga kommunikationen i den svenska arméns mansdominerade sfär

Sammanfattning: In the years 2010-2017 the mandatory military service was put on hold after decades of massive decrease in funds going to support the army. Putting the military service on hold led to issues in the Swedish military’s ability to have a societal presence, mainly because the service acts as the army’s main way of recruiting soldiers to a professional path. The decrease in societal presence has led to a barrier between the people and the military authority and many discussions have been reported in the media around the necessity of the armed forces, especially following a common understanding that Sweden is safe from being affected by war. In connection to the increased threat level in eastern Europe, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the discussion of the armed forces’ role as the leading authority of Sweden’s defense has gained a massive increase in media reporting. The Swedish commander in chief, Micael Bydén, recently stated that Swedish citizens need to be prepared in case of a crisis or war and in connection to recent reporting has led to a concern of Sweden being at war for the first time in over two hundred years. The following study is based on five qualitative interviews with male soldiers in the Swedish Armed Forces with the purpose of discussing male soldiers' views on their personal and professional communication with colleagues. Since the reintroduction of the military service the barrier between the authority and the citizens has lessened since a lot more people have a connection to the authority. This study serves the purpose of furthermore opening insight into the military operation in the form of communication studies. The study is based around two main questions which seek insight into the male soldier's view on personal and professional communication with both male and female colleagues. They also seek to understand how the aspects of professionalism, work environment and leadership both affect and simultaneously are affected by the communication in the workplace. The results show that both the personal and professional communication between male soldiers is viewed as rough, harsh as well as straightforward. The views on the style of communication is connected to both a societal view and the respondents personal views of masculinity. They express that women adapt to the communication style in their professional communication but that the phenomenon described by sociologist Deborah Tannen as cross-cultural communication creates conflict between men and women in their personal interactions. The results also show an acceptance of offensive language and harsh jargon with the reasoning that it creates a camaraderie and trust between colleagues because it in turn creates a bigger sense of honesty. The results also strengthen the view of the armed forces as a male dominated organization that relies on male stereotypes, which can both be seen in the view of masculinity as a sign of professionalism and also be understood from a personal standpoint where the respondents express a reluctance to openly express emotion. Lastly, the results show issues with the communication concerning both sexism, homophobia and in relation to the view of people in the LGBTQ+ community. Although there’s an expressed shift starting to be seen in the views on professionalism in relation to strict masculine norms. The respondents express the importance of supporting each other and a desire to see a more respectful environment towards women and others that do not fit into the stereotypical view of masculinity. They express the want of a more welcoming environment where people can be judged by their competence and professionalism rather than their gender or level of masculinity.