| Summary: | Since the end of the cold war there has been a transformation in the European armies towards a smaller, transnational, and more professional force. Between the years 2009 and 2015, however, there was a notable change in the discussion regarding the Swedish armed forces moving towards a more traditional and territorial force. The aim of this study is to examine the policy process before the abrupt change the defense bill constituted in 2015. The research question seeks to explain this change by applying the theory of multiple streams. By using process tracing as the methodology, the study traces different events and changes in opinions in effort to lay an empirical puzzle and through that explain the process behind the decision. The result of the study shows that a window of opportunity for change opened up in both the problem stream and politics stream which were made possible by the Russian annexing of the Crimea and the change of government. With the help from powerful policy entrepreneurs the bill got accepted by the majority of parties in the government. Further research suggests studies in how the change in the Swedish defense policy have affected their transnational relationships regarding security. Sweden have, for example, spent a great deal of time building a defense cooperation with other members of the European Union through joint operations and close teamwork. It would therefore be interesting and vital to future defense strategies to examine the consequences of the defense bill from 2015.
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