I dagarna kom en volym med 25 essäer på temat ledning av markoperationer skrivna av officerare på högre officersprogrammet från tryckeriet. Dessa essäer är skrivna av de officerare som deltog
på Högre Officersprogrammets (HOP) valbara kurs ”Ledning av markoperationer” under vårterminen 2020.
New article co-authored with Elin Norrman on Military Strategic Communication at the Tactical Level in Counterinsurgency Operations focusing on Sweden in Afghanistan. The article investigates the implementation of strategic communication at the lower segment of the military hierarchy in counter-insurgency (COIN) operations. It focuses primarily on the experiences of communicating strategically at the tactical level in manoeuvre forces, using Sweden in Afghanistan as a case study.
It is found that the tactical level often distances itself from the communicator tasks, arguing that this belongs to other units or personnel. However, the tactical level also pinpoints the vital role they play in shaping attitudes and beliefs in the area of operations. The results thus indicate a type of cognitive split in the perception of the communicator role among the manoeuvre forces.
Furthermore, the study reveals several obstacles in effectively executing strategic communication in the military domain. The most prominent areas are contradictions in messages due to force-protection measures and lack of synchronization.
Mainstream International Relations (IR) theory has problems fully accounting for the regional dynamics of East Asia. This article explores whether the pursuit of soft power—a concept that has been given a prominent position in research on East Asian IR—can provide one piece of the puzzle for understanding East Asia’s regional dynamics. This article proposes an analytical framework for analyzing soft power that problematizes the rigid soft power/hard power binary. The framework proposes a way to understand soft power and the hard-soft spectrum of behavior that allows for the inclusion of economic power while still drawing a line between hard and soft power, where not all economic power is soft, but nor is it all hard. It is argued that to keep the concept of soft power relevant in the East Asian context economic power needs to be included. The line is drawn between economic coercion and economic inducement, arguing that when induced there is still a certain level of freedom as one can choose whether the payments or bribes offered are good enough for it to be worthwhile to change one’s preference and behavior. Coercion, in contrast, utilizes a different dynamic where the point is to force someone to do something they are unwilling to do.
This report explores how elite networks among ASEAN countries can contribute to peace and prosperity in the region. Indeed, the building of cross-border elite networks is particularly relevant today given the heightened tension in the region and beyond caused by the ongoing power shift from the West to the East, and from the United States and Japan to China. In fact, with today’s new challenges such as the Sino-US trade war and the ongoing pandemic, it is particularly important to ensure both formal and informal elite interactions among ASEAN members and with the broader Asia-Pacific region, as they can often work as “normal” even during uncertain times.
Läs om “Att Leda Markoperationer” i nytt bihäfte till KUNGL KRIGSVETENSKAPSAKADEMIENS Handlingar och Tidskrift som jag har redigerat tillsammans med övlt Daniel Rydberg.
I detta bihäfte återfinns sex essäer på temat ledning av markoperationer. Dessa är skrivna av de officerare som deltog på det högre officersprogrammets (HOP) valbara kurs ”Markoperationer” under vårterminen 2019. I samband med denna kurs genomförande fick deltagarna skriva essäer inom det övergripande temat ”offensivt/defensivt tänkande, människan och manövern”. Ett urval av dessa essäer återfinns i detta bihäfte.
INNEHÅLL Att leda markoperationer av Mikael Weissmann och Daniel Rydberg Uppdragstaktiken dragen till sin spets: Var går gränsen för svensk tillämpning av uppdragstaktik? av Klas Åkesson Teknologiska systems inverkan på taktiken av Alicia Alkert Konceptuell och kognitiv flexibilitet: Vad krävs för att vi ska kunna återhämta oss från överraskning? av Jan-Åke Andersson Att följa vattnets väg är att följa chefens avsikt av Marcus Rosened Flexibel avvärjningsstrid mot en okänd motståndare av Frans von Fieandt Kulminerar moralen? av Mona Bäck
Reference: Weissmann, Mikael och Daniel Rydberg (reds), Att leda markoperationer, KUNGL KRIGSVETENSKAPSAKADEMIENS Handlingar och Tidskrift, Bihäfte, 2020.
Resumé in english
This volume contains six essays with a focus on how to conduct and lead ground operations. The essays are written by officers of the Swedish Higher Joint Command and Staff Programme. The contributions in the volume all have a focus on ground operations and tactics, but also cover a wide range of questions selected by the contributors themselves. The texts are written in conjunction with a field exercise [fältövning] to the Ardennes, where we put focus on the interplay between theory and ractice. The course itself is part of the Program’s tactical profile. This profile aims to facilitate combining scientific foundations and the proven experience of the military profession. The profile is intended to provide a holistic and professionally-oriented, in-depth understanding of the tactical level.
(NEW ESSAY COLLECTION ON “LEADING LAND OPERATIONS” in Swedish)
Övlt Daniel Rydberg och jag har sammanställt en volym med 29 essäer på temat ledning av markoperationer. Dessa är skrivna av officerare på högre officersprogrammet i samband med en kurs i markoperationer som Övlt Rydberg och jag ansvarade för (”Ledning av markoperationer”). Essäerna berör det övergripande temat ”offensivt/defensivt tänkande, människan och manövern”.
Introduktionen som även innehåller en sammanfattning av kapitlen kan du läsa här: “Att leda markoperationer”.
New article on Practical Examination and the Examination of Practice when teaching war studies to cadets and officers (and others) in The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Proceedings and Journal. In Swedish, but if interested send a message.
Abstract: The ability to lead armed combat is central to an officer. It is clear that the military professionis about more than possessing theoretical knowledge. Thus, in order to achieve an educationalprogram that includes the skills and abilities of the military profession there is a need to lookbeyond traditional written examination and apply practical examination in various forms.In this article we argue that while all practice can and should be examined through practicalexamination, not everything that is practically examined has to be practice. More specifically,this article will focus on the possibilities and limitations with practical examination. Focuswill be on the education of officers within the context of war studies. The article approachesthe issue on the basis of the legal framework for higher education in Sweden, research onteaching and learning in higher education and practice at the Swedish Defence University. Theoverall purpose is to understand practical examination with regard to what is allowed, howit is done with judicial security, and how it can be done in practice. The article also discusseswhat should be practically examined and how this should be done.
I just published a new article in Baltic Defence College’s Journal on Baltic Security – HYBRID WARFARE AND HYBRID THREATS TODAY AND TOMORROW: TOWARDS AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK.
This article first traces the origin of hybrid warfare and the label game surrounding the concept, asking whether it is merely old wine in a new bottle, and if so, whether it is still a useful concept. It is found that while being old wine in new bottles, it is still a good wine well worth drinking. While there is not much new in the concept itself, it is a useful tool to think about past wars, today’s wars and the wars of the future. Thereafter, this paper analyses how hybrid warfare and hybrid threats are to be understood in the context of peace, conflict and war. It is shown how hybrid warfare and threats fit into our traditional understanding of conflict dynamics.
Just published: Special Issue in Asian Perspective on Power, Narratives, and the Role of Third Parties: Understanding Power (Shift) in East Asia with Mikael Weissmann and Mingjiang Li as guest editors.
China’s “Belt and Road” in Southeast Asia: Constructing the Strategic Narrative in Singapore Alice D. Ba pp. 249-272 DOI: 10.1353/apr.2019.0010
China’s Economic Power in Asia: The Belt and Road Initiative and the Local Guangxi Government’s Role Mingjiang Li pp. 273-295 DOI: 10.1353/apr.2019.0011
Return to Geopolitics: The Changes in Japanese Strategic Narratives Hidekazu Sakai pp. 297-322 DOI: 10.1353/apr.2019.0012
The Relationship between Narratives and Security Practices: Pushing the Boundaries of Military Instruments in Japan Petter Y. Lindgren, Wrenn Yennie Lindgren pp. 323-348 DOI: 10.1353/apr.2019.0013
Contending Narratives of the International Order: US/Chinese Discursive Power and Its Effects on the UK Rex Li pp. 349-385 DOI: 10.1353/apr.2019.0014
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