Swedish National Defence College

About: Swedish National Defence College is a education organization based out in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Crisis management & Politics. The organization has 218 authors who have published 569 publications receiving 8074 citations.

Protecting the Union: Analysing an Emerging Policy Space

Abstract: Recent organizational, institutional and policy developments signal a new type of co–operative policy activity at the European level and suggest the emergence of a new policy space in the European Union. What binds together the activities in that space is a common concern for the protection of the EU citizen. This new policy space crosses sectoral boundaries, draws in a number of governmental and societal actors, and comprises a variety of institutional venues. Moreover, its dimensions span the internal and external divide in EU policies. This article serves as an introduction to a special issue on the topic of the EU’s emerging protection policy space. It first discusses the empirical parameters of this emerging space, before outlining a set of research questions and surveying the theoretical landscape for addressing these questions. It concludes by introducing the articles that comprise the special issue.

Winning ‘Hearts and Minds’? A Critical Analysis of Counter-Insurgency Operations in Afghanistan

Abstract: This article conducts a critical analysis of the historical lessons, theassumptions and the conduct of ‘hearts and minds’ approaches to counterinsurgency.This results in challenges. Theoretically t ...

Organizational culture effects on strategy and adaptability in crisis management

Abstract: This article presents a typology of temporal organizational responsesto crises in public perception aimed at examining the ability of organizations torestructure in order to cope with acute crisis ...

Gaming the Game: A Study of the Gamer Mode in Educational Wargaming

Abstract: A risk associated with the use of games in training and education is that players “game the game,” instead of focusing on their learning goals. The term gamer mode is proposed to describe this attitude. A player with a gamer-mode attitude strives to achieve goals that are optimal for winning the game, but suboptimal with respect to educational objectives. In this study of cadets playing an educational wargame to learn ground warfare tactics, the author examined occurrences of gamer mode. The results show that gamer mode on and off emerged in all analyzed sessions. Cadets' understanding of the wargame was different from what the instructors expected. This study discusses why it is important to avoid situations where the gamer mode emerges and also speculates on the sources that generate this attitude-the game itself, the educational setting, and the participants' previous experiences.

Emerging Information Infrastructures: Cooperation in Disasters

Abstract: Disasters are characterised by their devastating effect on human lives and the society's ability to function. Unfortunately, rescue operations and the possibility to re-establish a working society after such events is often hampered by the lack of functioning communication infrastructures. This paper describes the challenges ahead in creating new communication networks to support post-disaster operations, and sets them in the context of the current issues in protection of critical infrastructures. The analysis reveals that while there are some common concerns there are also fundamental differences. The paper serves as an overview of some promising research directions and pointers to existing works in these areas.