The Swedish Defence University signs the Magna Charta Universitatum

On 13 November 2025, the Swedish Defence University signed the Magna Charta Universitatum during a formal ceremony at King's College in London.

The Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU) is a document that sets out the fundamental principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The original document was signed in 1988 by 388 universities around the world, marking the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna. The number of signatories has now reached around 1,000 universities in 94 countries, including some twenty higher education institutions in Sweden.

“Scientific and academic values, together with democracy, the rule of law and human rights, are among the ideas that are currently being directly challenged in many parts of the world. By joining those institutions that seek to uphold principles such as academic freedom, intellectual diversity, good research practice and critical scrutiny, we, as a defence university, can contribute to the encouragement of such values within the defence and security sector”, says Kjell Engelbrekt, Dean and Professor of Political Science at the Swedish Defence University.

Safeguarding scientific values

To be allowed to sign the MCU, institutions must demonstrate a strong commitment to scientific values and principles such as institutional autonomy, intellectual independence, freedom of research, research-based teaching, dissemination of research findings, and participation in national and international public debate.

“We receive a kind of confirmation that we meet the requirements and expectations placed on the Swedish Defence University under Swedish law, given that we have formally been under the Ministry of Education for almost two decades, even though in some respects we are more closely connected to the Ministry of Defence and the Swedish Armed Forces”, says Kjell Engelbrekt.

Precisely because it is possible to refer to this ‘confirmation’, it may also facilitate cooperation with civilian universities that are subject to the same requirements and expectations, for example in the technical field, Engelbrekt notes.