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- Coetzee, Wayne Stephen, 1984-, et al.
(author)
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Branding ‘progressive’ security : The case of Sweden
- 2024
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In: Cooperation and Conflict. - : Sage Publications. - 0010-8367 .- 1460-3691. ; 59:1, s. 3-128
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Contemporary research on so-called Nordic branding has provided crucial insights into the social power of states and how various actors use and circulate ‘progressive’ nation brand tropes for political and commercial goals. Hitherto, the literature on Nordic branding has focused on a wide range of substantive issues, among other things, human rights, gender equality, social welfare and foreign aid, but considerably less attention has been paid to the topic of security. The present article adds to a small but established literature on how the security sphere is increasingly entangled with nation branding. In the Nordic region, we argue, the latter is particularly evident in the case of Sweden – one of the world’s largest per-capita arms exporters in the post-Cold War era but also a country known and often revered for its peaceful and progressive image. Focusing on the case of Sweden, the article contributes to knowledge of how defence industry-related actors (both public and private) draw on and frame nation branding tropes to sell and legitimise their products and services to both insiders (domestic constituents) and outsiders (the global security market).
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- Krickel-Choi, Nina C., 1989-
(author)
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Rethinking Ontological Security Theory : Conceptual Investigations into 'Self' and 'Anxiety'
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The growing literature on ontological security has generated important insights about the behaviour of individuals, groups, and states in international politics. It has thereby greatly contributed to the discipline of International Relations (IR), especially to IR theory and the sub-field of Security Studies. By focusing on the ‘security of the self’ and the consequences of feelings of anxiety, Ontological Security Theory (OST) challenges the primacy of physical security-seeking and gives us a way of accounting for the psychological underpinnings of security-seeking in IR. Yet, in spite of its contribution to rethinking some of the fundamental tenets of the discipline, Ontological Security Studies (OSS) retains assumptions characteristic of IR as a whole, and is itself characterised by certain biases and ambiguities. Motivated by a desire to continue OSS’ critical engagement with IR, to sharpen OST as an analytical tool, and to advance our empirical understanding of state behaviour and the world, this dissertation adopts a conceptual lens to analyse and rethink two of OST’s key concepts: ‘self’ and ‘anxiety’. Specifically, it traces the usage of ‘self’ and ‘anxiety’ through the current OSS scholarship, and compares it with some of the literature’s precursors in sociology, phenomenology, and psychological existentialism. This makes it possible to recover lost meanings, on the basis of which the OST framework is rethought and applied to current IR issues in East Asia.In adopting a strategy of recovering lost meanings, the five self-contained articles in this dissertation do not seek to return to a ‘purer’ reading of ontological security or to imply that these readings are more ‘correct’. Rather, the articles treat past usages of ‘self’ and ‘anxiety’ as sources of inspiration, which can complement current OSS and propel it forward by highlighting and problematizing underlying assumptions. They aspire to make us see and understand actor behaviour differently. In pursuing this aim, the articles provide an in-depth engagement with OSS and make three interrelated arguments. First, the ontological security-seeking ‘self’ is an embodied self, which suggests not only that we need to consider the bodies of states and other actors in IR, but also that physical and ontological security-seeking are closely intertwined and not easily distinguished. Second, though often equated, the concepts of ‘self’ and ‘identity’ are analytically distinct, from which it follows that ontological security is not reducible to matters of identity. Instead, ontological security is better understood, and provides greater analytical purchase, as consisting of multiple dimensions, which together create and reaffirm a sense of personhood. Third, while feelings of anxiety are ubiquitous, not all anxieties are the same, which is why it is useful to recover the existentialist distinction between normal and neurotic anxiety. Doing so allows us to account for different kinds of behavioural responses without falling into the trap of equating all anxiety with a lack of ontological security.Ultimately, this dissertation reveals the crucial importance of concepts for shaping our analyses and imagination, develops the recovery of meaning as a key strategy to rethink concepts and theories, points to the important role of sovereignty in the ontological security-seeking of states, and advances OST by critically engaging with and rethinking two of its key concepts.
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- Larsson, Sebastian, 1989-
(author)
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The Civil Paradox : Swedish Arms Production and Export and the Role of Emerging Technologies
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Migration and Border Studies. - 1755-2419 .- 1755-2427. ; 6:1-2, s. 26-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How is the notion of 'civil security' at work within and for arms companies? What are its technological and socio-political roles? The article analyses the early 2000s transformations of the Swedish arms industry with focus on its largest company Saab, and how civil security technologies have become assembled into ambiguous 'systems' that through a logic of scalability can move between different areas of practice; from refugee detention to policing to border surveillance. It concludes that arms companies increasingly absorb their most sophisticated technologies from civil (rather than military) R&D, and that they can use these for piecing together 'one-stop shop' packages of security- and defence products. The notion of civil security also serves as a socio-political façade of 'innovation' and 'neutrality' with which the industry can masquerade an interest in human rights, attract young professionals, and obscure the negotiations of arms trade delegations abroad.
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- Larsson, Sebastian, 1989-
(author)
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The Military Academy as a Civilizing Institution : A Historical Sociology of the Academization of Officer Education in Sweden
- 2024
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In: Armed forces and society. - 0095-327X .- 1556-0848.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Throughout history, military officers’ standing in society has been maintained through the establishment and reforming of military academies. Gradually infusing officer education with academic standards and scholarly ideals has helped secure the corps’ status as a legitimate profession. Drawing on Norbert Elias and Pierre Bourdieu, this article explores the “academization” of officer education in Sweden over 200 years. It finds that academization processes have been prominent in the military officer field, first, during 19th-century struggles to establish a state-organized educational system and war science discipline for the emerging profession, and second, during post-Cold War struggles to reinstate the military’s legitimacy and status by integrating officer education in the university sector. It argues that academic capital has been drawn on instrumentally in the officer field, as a means to endow the corps with a wider credibility and, more broadly, justify the existence of violent professions in peaceful societies.
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- Lozano, Rafael, et al.
(author)
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Measuring progress from 1990 to 2017 and projecting attainment to 2030 of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
- 2018
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In: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 392:10159, s. 2091-2138
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Efforts to establish the 2015 baseline and monitor early implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight both great potential for and threats to improving health by 2030. To fully deliver on the SDG aim of “leaving no one behind”, it is increasingly important to examine the health-related SDGs beyond national-level estimates. As part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017), we measured progress on 41 of 52 health-related SDG indicators and estimated the health-related SDG index for 195 countries and territories for the period 1990–2017, projected indicators to 2030, and analysed global attainment. Methods: We measured progress on 41 health-related SDG indicators from 1990 to 2017, an increase of four indicators since GBD 2016 (new indicators were health worker density, sexual violence by non-intimate partners, population census status, and prevalence of physical and sexual violence [reported separately]). We also improved the measurement of several previously reported indicators. We constructed national-level estimates and, for a subset of health-related SDGs, examined indicator-level differences by sex and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile. We also did subnational assessments of performance for selected countries. To construct the health-related SDG index, we transformed the value for each indicator on a scale of 0–100, with 0 as the 2·5th percentile and 100 as the 97·5th percentile of 1000 draws calculated from 1990 to 2030, and took the geometric mean of the scaled indicators by target. To generate projections through 2030, we used a forecasting framework that drew estimates from the broader GBD study and used weighted averages of indicator-specific and country-specific annualised rates of change from 1990 to 2017 to inform future estimates. We assessed attainment of indicators with defined targets in two ways: first, using mean values projected for 2030, and then using the probability of attainment in 2030 calculated from 1000 draws. We also did a global attainment analysis of the feasibility of attaining SDG targets on the basis of past trends. Using 2015 global averages of indicators with defined SDG targets, we calculated the global annualised rates of change required from 2015 to 2030 to meet these targets, and then identified in what percentiles the required global annualised rates of change fell in the distribution of country-level rates of change from 1990 to 2015. We took the mean of these global percentile values across indicators and applied the past rate of change at this mean global percentile to all health-related SDG indicators, irrespective of target definition, to estimate the equivalent 2030 global average value and percentage change from 2015 to 2030 for each indicator. Findings: The global median health-related SDG index in 2017 was 59·4 (IQR 35·4–67·3), ranging from a low of 11·6 (95% uncertainty interval 9·6–14·0) to a high of 84·9 (83·1–86·7). SDG index values in countries assessed at the subnational level varied substantially, particularly in China and India, although scores in Japan and the UK were more homogeneous. Indicators also varied by SDI quintile and sex, with males having worse outcomes than females for non-communicable disease (NCD) mortality, alcohol use, and smoking, among others. Most countries were projected to have a higher health-related SDG index in 2030 than in 2017, while country-level probabilities of attainment by 2030 varied widely by indicator. Under-5 mortality, neonatal mortality, maternal mortality ratio, and malaria indicators had the most countries with at least 95% probability of target attainment. Other indicators, including NCD mortality and suicide mortality, had no countries projected to meet corresponding SDG targets on the basis of projected mean values for 2030 but showed some probability of attainment by 2030. For some indicators, including child malnutrition, several infectious diseases, and most violence measures, the annualised rates of change required to meet SDG targets far exceeded the pace of progress achieved by any country in the recent past. We found that applying the mean global annualised rate of change to indicators without defined targets would equate to about 19% and 22% reductions in global smoking and alcohol consumption, respectively; a 47% decline in adolescent birth rates; and a more than 85% increase in health worker density per 1000 population by 2030. Interpretation: The GBD study offers a unique, robust platform for monitoring the health-related SDGs across demographic and geographic dimensions. Our findings underscore the importance of increased collection and analysis of disaggregated data and highlight where more deliberate design or targeting of interventions could accelerate progress in attaining the SDGs. Current projections show that many health-related SDG indicators, NCDs, NCD-related risks, and violence-related indicators will require a concerted shift away from what might have driven past gains—curative interventions in the case of NCDs—towards multisectoral, prevention-oriented policy action and investments to achieve SDG aims. Notably, several targets, if they are to be met by 2030, demand a pace of progress that no country has achieved in the recent past. The future is fundamentally uncertain, and no model can fully predict what breakthroughs or events might alter the course of the SDGs. What is clear is that our actions—or inaction—today will ultimately dictate how close the world, collectively, can get to leaving no one behind by 2030.
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| 9. |
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Nordic Societal Security : Convergence and Divergence
- 2020
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Editorial collection (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This book compares and contrasts publicly espoused security concepts in the Nordic region, and explores the notion of societal security.Outside observers often assume that Nordic countries take similar approaches to the security and safety of their citizens. This book challenges that assumption and traces the evolution of ‘societal security’, and its broadly equivalent concepts, in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The notion of societal security is deconstructed and analysed in terms of its different meanings and implications for each country, through both country- and issue-focused studies. Each chapter traces the evolution of key security concepts and related practices, allowing for a comparison of similarities and differences between these four countries. Using discourses and practices as evidence, this is the first book to explore how different Nordic nations have conceptualised domestic security over time. The findings will be valuable to scholars from across the geographical and theoretical spectrum, while highlighting how Nordic security discourses and practices may deviate from traditional assumptions about Nordic values.This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, Nordic politics and International Relations.
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| 10. |
- Swensson, Beatrice, 1992, et al.
(author)
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Scattering studies of the size and structure of cellulose dissolved in aqueous hydroxide base solvents
- 2021
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In: Carbohydrate Polymers. - : Elsevier BV. - 0144-8617 .- 1879-1344. ; 274
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Combining NaOH with other hydroxide bases with superior dissolution properties can be a means of improving dissolution of cellulose. However, this raises questions about how the size and structure of cellulose vary when dissolved in different hydroxide bases. Here, cellulose in aqueous solutions of NaOH, Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), Benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (Triton B) and previously studied equimolar solutions of NaOH/TMAH and NaOH/Triton B were investigated using small angle X-ray scattering, static and dynamic light scattering. The results show that cellulose in NaOH(aq) is largely aggregated and that the more hydrophobic TMAH and Triton are capable of molecularly dissolving cellulose into worm-like conformations, stiffer than in NaOH. The dissolution properties of mixtures are highly dependent on the compatibility of the individual bases; in line with previous observations of the properties of the solutions which now could be correlated to the structure of the cellulose on a nano- and microscale.
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