Meet some of our researchers
Do you want to learn more about our researchers and what we do at the Swedish Defence University? Here you will find interviews with some of the researchers at the Swedish Defence University.
Our researchers are experts within the fields of societal security, defence, leadership under stressful conditions and crisis management. Below you will find interviews with some of them about their research and current projects.

"I like to ask big questions"
Antoine Bousquet is a researcher that likes to look at broad historical processes and draw connections from different fields. He has recently published a second edition of his first book Th...

She wants to contribute to more secure oceans
Associate Senior Lecturer Adriana Ávila-Zúñiga Nordfjeld's research focuses on port and maritime safety and security. With extensive experience in the field, one of her driving forces is to...

From submarine commander to professor
Roar Espevik has a background as a submarine officer and extensive experience in leadership development under stressful conditions. His drive to try something new led him to the Swedish Defe...

Focusing on politics and relationships
As a researcher in the field of Leadership Studies, Jenny Madestam is particularly concerned with leadership as exercised in public life and politics. This was certainly a highly relevant to...

Curiosity leads the way
Linus Hagström, Professor of Political Science at the Swedish Defence University, has gone from a narrow research focus centered on Japanese foreign and security policy to a broader research...

How wars and conflicts affect the individual
The impact of war, conflicts or lack of security on the individual is the main theme of Mariam Bjarnesen's research. Drawing on ethnographic research traditions, she has conducted several fi...

A security policy jack-of-all-trades
Kjell Engelbrekt has conducted research in the areas of European security policy, transatlantic security and superpower diplomacy. His current research focus is to evaluate Sweden's role in...

Feminist perspectives on civil war
Jenny Hedström, associate professor and associate senior lecturer in War Studies, researches gender and civil war with a special focus on Myanmar. She is currently working on a study that ex...

”Unique environment for research on gender, peace and security”
On 9 January 2019, Annick Wibben was appointed the Swedish Defence University’s first Anna Lindh Professor in Gender, Peace and Security. Her ambition is to create an environment for the exc...

“It feels very meaningful”
Gerry Larsson’s research mainly focuses on leadership and leadership development. He is the man behind a widely used leadership model known as Developmental Leadership, which has been used b...

“Information is the core of security policy”
As social media and digital channels make the news flow both faster and more readily available, it has become increasingly clear that information is an instrument of power. Charlotte Wagnsso...

How leadership affects the organisation
Erik Berntson has long been interested in leadership issues and his research focuses on the organisational conditions for managers in leadership positions. "There is quite a lot known about...

The law continues to fascinate him
Jann Kleffner's research revolves around various aspects of international operational law, including the law of armed conflict, the law on the use of force in international relations and hum...

He wants to contribute to improving the work of the Armed Forces
One of Peter Thunholm's driving forces is to find new solutions that can improve the Armed Forces' operations, and his research has, among other things, laid the foundation for a new plannin...
A Professor of War Studies who likes peace
What does warfare in the future look like from a Swedish perspective? And what role will artificial intelligence and new technologies play for the work of the armed forces? These are some of...

He is looking to understand the nature and character of warfare
Jerker Widén is a Professor of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University. His research focuses on military theory with a focus on naval thinking. "My work is focused on analysing theori...

"The full range of human behaviour"
Ann Enander's research on leadership and how people react in crisis and risk situations is a very current matter. Enander is one of the experts in the government-appointed Corona Commission...

From environmental policy to political philosophy
Ronnie Hjorth, Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science and Law, began his research career with a thesis on environmental policy. Now, his interest in political...
RESEARCH NEWS
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New study on narrative-based influence operations15 Jun 2022Influence operations can be effective even when the disseminated message is not logical or consistent with the recipient's previous experience. This is the finding of a new study examining p...
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How scientific ideas are reflected in practices of war31 May 2022The second edition of Antoine Bousquet’s book The Scientific Way of Warfare: Order and Chaos on the Battlefields of Modernity has recently hit the shelves and will be presented at a book...
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Information operations of influence have less impact than we think12 May 2022In a new review article, Claes Wallenius, Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Command and Control at the Swedish Defence University, looks at what research says about how susceptible humans ar...