Anchoring Sweden’s Downsized Military – People’s Attitude to, Knowledge About, and Trust in Our Military Defense

Claes Wallenius; Anna Karin Berglund; Carina Brandow; Susanne Hede

doi:10.31374/sjms.69

Anchoring Sweden’s Downsized Military – People’s Attitude to, Knowledge About, and Trust in Our Military Defense

Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies

Volume 4 (2021): Issue 1

By: Claes Wallenius, Anna Karin Berglund, Carina Brandow and Susanne Hede

Open Access

|Feb 2021

Figures & Tables

Table 1

Age of Respondents.

Age	Percentage of the sample	Percentage in the whole country *
76–84	9%	6.7%
66–75	22%	13.8%
56–65	19%	15.2%
46–55	17%	17.1%
36–45	13%	16.8%
26–35	10%	16.7%
18–25	10%	13.7%

[i] Note: * The figures are from 2014 and collected from Statistics Sweden (2015a).

Table 2

The Indices Formed after Factor Analysis.

Original blocks	Index	Typical item	Number of items	Cronbach’s alpha
Assessment of and concern for societal risks and threats	Perceived risk of different threats to society (disaster, military attack, terrorism)	How do you perceive the risk that a major crisis/disaster will occur in Sweden in the next five years?	5	α = .867
Worries about different threats to society	How big is your concern for a major crisis/disaster to occur in Sweden?	5	α = .907
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	How interested are you in the direction and activities of the Armed Forces?	7	α = .957
Knowledge about the defense policy	Knowledge about the defense policy	I follow the defense policy debate.	8	α = .927
Knowledge about the SAF	Knowledge about the SAF	I think that I have a good knowledge of how the SAF are recruiting and training soldiers and corresponding personnel groups today.	4	α = .876
Opinion of the SAF’s focus, task, and costs, and the defense policy’s focus and long-term perspective	Positive attitude to a military defense, military service, and defense industry	I believe Sweden should have a defense industry.	9	α = .881
	Positive attitude to defense alliances	I believe Sweden should become a NATO member.	2	α = .797
Opinion of the SAF’s international missions	Positive attitude to international missions	I believe Sweden’s military operations abroad have contributed to increased peace and security.	4	α = .819
	Concern about international missions	I believe Sweden’s military operations abroad have increased the risk of military attacks against Sweden.	2	α = .791
Trust in the SAF and defense policy	Trust in the SAF	I have confidence in the SAF’s ability to accomplish its tasks.	5	α = .857
	Trust in the defense policy	I have confidence in the government’s defense policy.	3	α = .914
Ideas for strengthening trust	The SAF’s core values are important	How important for your confidence is it that the SAF engage in diversity issues?	4	α = .830
	The SAF’s transparency is important	How important for your confidence is it that the SAF are open about their activities?	4	α = .751

[i] Note: Most items were answered on a five-point scale (agree entirely – do not agree at all). Items formulated as questions were answered on different five-point scales (non-existent – very large; not at all – very much).

Table 3

The Different Indices Ranked by Mean.

	Index	N	M	SD
1	The SAF’s transparency is important	963	3.97	0.72
2	Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	780	3.85	0.86
3	The SAF’s core values are important	955	3.79	0.88
4	Positive attitude to international missions	772	3.34	0.84
5	Trust in the SAF	900	3.16	0.75
6	Positive attitude to defense alliances	762	3.12	1.39
7	Perceived risk of different threats to society (disaster, military attack, terrorism)	1,032	2.67	0.74
8	Concern about international missions	966	2.62	0.95
9	Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	1,113	2.56	1.02
10	Knowledge about the defense policy	923	2.53	0.89
11	Worries about different threats to society	1,066	2.53	0.83
12	Trust in the defense policy	817	2.46	0.88
13	Knowledge about the SAF	993	2.27	0.83

[i] Note: Large Index 7, 11: Scale 1–5, where 1 = nonexistent, 3 = moderate, and 5 = very.

Index 9: Scale 1–5, where 1 = not at all, 3 = quite interested, and 5 = very interested.

Index 1, 3: Scale 1–5, where 1 = not important, 3 = quite important, and 5 = very important.

Others: Scale 1–5, where 1 = do not agree at all, 3 = agree in part, and 5 = agree entirely.

An illustration of how indices are correlated. Only medium and strong correlations (> .350) are included.

Table 4

Correlations Between the Indices.

	Risk	Worries	Interest	Know DefPol	Know SAF	Pos Def	Pos All	Pos IntMi	Conc IntMi	Trust SAF	Trust DefPol	Core Values
Worries	.812**
Interest	.327**	.289**
Know DefPol	.206**	.160**	.804**
Know SAF	.055	.008	.591**	.717**
Pos Def	.387**	.357**	.416**	.334**	.234**
Pos All	.189**	.212**	.141**	.133**	.093*	.464**
Pos IntMi	.032	.021	.297**	.218**	.324**	.379**	.275**
Conc IntMi	.270**	.279**	.092**	.036	–.025	.163**	.172**	–.134**
Trust SAF	–.103**	–.098**	.111**	.021	.168**	.141**	.154**	.535**	–.087*
Trust DefPol	–.310**	–.224**	–.064	–.069	.056	–.129**	.033	.246**	–.103**	.546**
Core Values	–.165**	–111**	.024	.008	.021	–.139**	.015	.309**	–.104**	.305**	.335**
Trans-parency	.086	125**	.281**	.231**	.147**	.269**	.230**	.329**	.025	.221**	.086*	.429**

[i] Note: * p ≤ .05; ** p ≤ .01; Know = knowledge, DefPol = defense policy, Pos = positive attitude, Def = defense, All = alliance, Conc = concern, IntMi = international missions.

Table 5

Index Where Men and Women Differ.

	Men M (SD)	Women M (SD)	t	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.85 (1.02)	2.27 (0.93)	10.01	<.001	.083
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.78 (0.87)	2.23 (0.81)	9.87	<.001	.096
Knowledge about the SAF	2.53 (0.84)	1.98 (0.72)	11.13	<.001	.110
Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	3.98 (0.83)	3.64 (0.87)	5.51	<.001	.038
Positive attitude to international missions	3.42 (0.88)	3.23 (0.75)	3.22	.001	.013
Positive attitude to defense alliances	3.28 (1.38)	2.88 (1.39)	3.89	<.000	.020
The SAF’s core values are important	3.65 (0.88)	3.93 (0.85)	–4.96	<.001	.025

Table 6

Indices Where Levels of Education Differ.

	All M (SD)	Primary. M	Second. M	Post-second. <3years M	Post-second. ≥3years M	F	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.57 (1.02)	2.25	2.45	2.68	2.82	14.77	<.001	.041
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.54 (0.89)	2.23	2.40	2.57	2.81	17.07	<.001	.056
Knowledge about the SAF	2.28 (0.83)	1.97	2.22	2.35	2.46	12.35	<.001	.038
Concern about international missions	2.61 (0.94)	2.63	2.74	2.55	2.48	3.96	.008	.013
Trust in the defense policy	2.44 (0.87)	2.67	2.35	2.52	2.41	4.22	.006	.016
The SAF’s core values are important	3.79 (0.88)	3.71	3.65	3.82	3.97	7.26	<.001	.024
The SAF’s transparency is important	3.98 (0.72)	3.86	3.88	4.09	4.06	5,65	.001	.018
Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	3.84 (0.87)	3.84	3.91	3.93	3.71	2,71	.044	.011

Table 7

Indices Where Those Living in Cities of Different Sizes/Areas Differ.

	All M (SD)	< 20 M	21–80 M	81–200 M	< 200 M	F	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.57 (1.02)	2.45	2.53	2.65	2.71	4.09	.007	.011
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.53 (0.89)	2.42	2.53	2.56	2.68	3.86	.009	.013
The SAF’s core values are important	3.79 (0.88)	3.82	3.61	3.78	3.91	4.65	.003	.015
The SAF’s transparency is important	3.97 (0.72)	3.95	3.87	4.04	4.04	2.65	.048	.008

[i] Note: Citizens in thousands.

Table 8

Indices Where Those Who Live Near a Military Unit or School Differ from Those Who Do not.

	SAF at home M (SD)	SAF not at home M (SD)	t	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.85 (1.03)	2.57 (0.98)	3.65	<.001	.015
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.83 (0.79)	2.51 (0.88)	4.44	<.001	.025
Knowledge about the SAF	2.50 (0.84)	2.27 (0.81)	3.45	.001	.014

Table 9

Indices Where Those Who Perceive the SAF as Visible in the Neighborhood Differ from Those Who Do not.

	SAF visible M (SD)	SAF not visible M (SD)	t	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.82 (1.04)	2.57 (0.99)	2.71	.007	.007
Knowledge about the SAF	2.58 (0.85)	2.25 (0.81)	4.27	<.001	.019

Table 10

Indices Where Foreign-Born Differ from Those Born in Sweden.

	Foreign-born M (SD)	Born in Sweden M (SD)	t	p	η²
Perceived risk of different threats to society (disaster, military attack, terrorism)	2.44 (0.89)	2.69 (0.72)	–2.75	.007	.007
Worries about different threats to society	2.34 (1.00)	2.55 (0.80)	–2.15	.034	.004
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.31 (0.94)	2.56 (0.88)	–2.57	.010	.007
Trust in the defense policy	2.74 (1.00)	2.44 (0.86)	2.87	.004	.010

Table 11

Indices Where Those with Foreign-Born Parents Differ from Those with Parents Born in Sweden.

	At least one foreign-born parent M (SD)	No foreign-born parents M (SD)	t	p	η²
Worries about different threats to society	2.39 (0.92)	2.56 (0.80)	–2.28	.023	.005
Positive attitude to defense alliances	3.37 (0.70)	3.20 (0.60)	2.73	.006	.010
Trust in the defense policy	2.70 (0.99)	2.42 (0.85)	3.27	.001	.013

Table 12

Indices Where Those with Personal Connections to the SAF Differ from Those Who Do not Have Connections.

	Pers. connection M (SD)	No pers. connection M (SD)	t	p	η²
Perceived risk of different threats to society (disaster, military attack, terrorism)	2.82 (0.72)	2.64 (0.73)	2.64	.008	.007
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.92 (1.01)	2.47 (0.99)	5.01	<.001	.025
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.78 (0.84)	2.46 (0.88)	3.81	<.001	.017
Knowledge about the SAF	2.59 (0.81)	2.19 (0.80)	5.35	<.001	.031
Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	4.09 (0.75)	3.78 (0.87)	4.21	<.001	.025
Positive attitude to defense alliances	3.46 (1.31)	3.05 (1.40)	2.96	.003	.013
Trust in the defense policy	2.24 (0.88)	2.50 (0.86)	–3.02	.003	.012
The SAF’s core values are important	3.62 (0.93)	3.83 (0.85)	–2.67	.008	.008

Table 13

Indices Where Those Who Completed Military Service Differ from Those Who Did not.

	Service M (SD)	No service M (SD)	t	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.93 (0.96)	2.36 (0.98)	–8.67	<.001	.070
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.89 (0.81)	2.32 (0.86)	9.44	<.001	.097
Knowledge about the SAF	2.62 (0.77)	2.08 (0.78)	9.93	<.001	.099
Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	4.05 (0.78)	3.69 (0.90)	–5.78	<.001	.045
Positive attitude to international missions	3.42 (0.83)	3.30 (0.82)	2.03	.043	.006

Table 14

Indices Where Men with Completed Military Service Differ from Men Who Have not Served.

	Men with service M (SD)	Men without service M (SD)	t	p	η²
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	2.92 (0.95)	2.70 (1.09)	2.33	.020	.011
Knowledge about the defense policy	2.88 (0.81)	2.59 (0.95)	3.21	.002	.022
Knowledge about the SAF	2.61 (0.77)	2.36 (0.91)	3.05	.002	.019
Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	4.05 (0.78)	3.82 (0.93)	2.53	.012	.015

Table 15

Overview of Background Factors with Significant Differences Between Subgroups.

Index	Men	Foreign-born	High education	Big hometown	Connection to SAF	Completed service
Perceived risk of different threats to society (disaster, military attack, terrorism)		–			+
Worries about different threats to society		–
Interest in the SAF and the defense policy	++		++	+	++	++
Knowledge about the defense policy	++	–	++	+	++	++
Knowledge about the SAF	++		++		++	++
Positive attitude to the defense, military service, and the defense industry	++				++	++
Positive attitude to defense alliances	++	+			+
Positive attitude to international missions	+					+
Concern about international missions
Trust in the defense policy		+			–
The SAF’s core values are important	––				–
The SAF’s transparency is important

[i] Note: + means that the subgroup has significantly higher value, – implies significantly lower + respectively – means that p ≤ .05; ++ respectively –– means that p < .001.

References

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.69 | Journal eISSN: 2596-3856

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Language: English

Page range: 78 - 93

Submitted on: Feb 26, 2020

Accepted on: Jan 5, 2021

Published on: Feb 18, 2021

Published by: Scandinavian Military Studies

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

anchoring,

trust,

downsizing,

Swedish Armed Forces,

concordance

© 2021 Claes Wallenius, Anna Karin Berglund, Carina Brandow, Susanne Hede, published by Scandinavian Military Studies
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 4 (2021): Issue 1

Anchoring Sweden’s Downsized Military – People’s Attitude to, Knowledge About, and Trust in Our Military Defense

Figures & Tables

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Figure 1

Table 4

Table 5

Table 6

Table 7

Table 8

Table 9

Table 10

Table 11

Table 12

Table 13

Table 14

Table 15

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