The Swedish Defence University now has a postgraduate program in leadership and command & control

On 21 February, leadership and command & control was established as a third-cycle subject at the Swedish Defence University.

Leadership and command & control is the fourth subject at the Swedish Defence University to have its own postgraduate program.

"This is important for several reasons. It provides our doctoral students with an opportunity to be part of a common doctoral environment instead of attending different postgraduate programs at other universities. For the subject, it means a greater presence of doctoral students and relevant research. It also means that there is a goal for our master's students to be able to apply to our doctoral program after their graduation, which is very positive," says Erik Berntsson, deputy head and professor at the Department of leadership and command & contol.

Research from different perspectives

Leadership and command & contol draw and develop knowledge from behavioral science, social science, and design science, studying the issues from various perspectives, such as education, psychology, sociology, and political science.

The subject is empirically based on the needs and challenges that are typical for actors and activities within defense, crisis management, and security. The subject includes studies of leadership under stressful conditions, leadership and management theory, leader development, collaboration, crisis management, design of management systems, team issues, and selection. The subject also has a significant interest in gender, methodological, and ethical issues.

Research spans from the individual, across groups and organizations, to society, where the conditions for leading at different hierarchical levels before, during, and after operations are studied, as well as functions and technical support for leadership and how they interact in systems. The research also includes leader development, personnel provisioning, recruitment and selection issues, test and method development, stress, risk and crisis management, organization, and total defense.

Defense, crisis management, and security

Since 2018, the Swedish Defence University has had the authority to award doctoral degrees in defense, crisis management, and security, where the subjects of war studies and political science with a focus on crisis management and security have been established. They were complemented by military history in 2023, and now with leadership and command & contol.