| Summary: | This essay is a case study about the Swedish Armed Forces during the years 1988-2004; when it transformed from a force constructed to meet an invasion, to an international force with the primary mission to help subdue conflicts around the world. The essay uses texts and documents to examine what happened between these years and to find out what drove that change. By asking the questions A) ”What happened between the years 1988-2004?” and B) ”What is the difference between the Armed Forces in 1988 and in 2004?”, it is possible to also ask C) ”Why did the Swedish Armed Forces change?”. The essay is divided into three main parts; 1) a theory-part focused on three main theories of international relations: liberalism, realism, and constructivism, 2) a historical case study examining the evolvement of the Armed Forces during these years, and 3) a conclusions section that uses thethree theories of international relations to examine why this change happened. In examining the historical period and making conclusions about the differences between these years it was also necessary to construct a scale of military power, on which the historical case study is based.
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